Clarity
by Himitsu-paws
Summary: Madara was never one to put all his eggs in one basket. In the event that Obito failed, he set in place an alternate method of resurrection. Sakura really did have the worst luck with Uchihas, but nothing prepared her for sharing her mind with one, especially one that was supposed to be dead. Eventual MadaSaku. Semi-Drabble fic.
1. The Beginning

**A/N:** This is going to be a semi-drabble fic of what would happen if Sakura ended up with Madara's soul and mind sealed inside her. The plot I have thought out for this is pretty epic and will start sometime shortly before Itachi's death in the manga and follow the basic story, though it will end up as AU at some point. Unfortunately, I don't have the time, focus, or energy to write a proper story. Sucks, but that's life. Yet I still would really like to tell this idea that's been developing in my head, so drabbles it is. I know some people hate this style of writing, but if you can stick with me, I promise you that you'll enjoy the story.

Chapters will vary in length but hopefully (no promises) be at least a few hundred to a thousand words per chapter, maybe shorter, maybe longer, we'll see! But given the chapter lengths, updates shouldn't be too long in between. Please review if you like the story, it would mean a lot to me to hear what you think, even if it's a short note. This isn't beta read at all, so forgive any grammar errors.

**Summary:** Madara was never one to put all his eggs in one basket. In the event that Obito failed, he set in place an alternate method of resurrection. Sakura really did have the worst luck with Uchihas, but nothing prepared her for sharing her mind with one, especially one that was supposed to be dead. Eventual MadaSaku.

**Note: **Give it a couple chapters if you're a new reader. My writing has gotten better as I put out updates.

**Rating:** T for now, M eventually probably.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto and related franchise.

Starting next chapter:

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-The Beginning-**

"Now... move..." the elderly Madara wheezed, as the tubes connecting him to the Gedo Mazo, the only reason that had remained alive for years, severed and dropped from his back. Ignoring a wide-eyed Obito, he fell back heavily into the wooden throne, his body quickly growing weak, death swiftly approaching. He felt satisfied he had properly instructed the Uchiha boy on how to act in his stead, and that he would be brought back to life at the right moment.

Black Zetsu would ensure that Obito would remain on the right path. In time, that Nagato brat would eventually gain enough mastery over his eyes to perform the Rinne Tensei, and then he would take over from Obito and enact the Eye of the Moon plan, saving the world from its wretched self and bring happiness and peace to everyone. "Until my revival..." he told the boy, "you are... Madara Uchiha."

As darkness clouded his vision and it became increasingly harder to breathe, his mouth pulled into a faint scowl. He never liked only leaving himself one option. Obito was fully committed to the role of Madara and would faithfully act in his stead, he was sure of that. Even now the boy had a determined look in his eye. Yet he hated not having even a contingency plan in case events did not play out the way they were meant to. One could never be too careful.

He focused the remainder of his fading chakra into one hand and pressed it into the seat of his throne. A complicated seal briefly flared under his palm before fading into the wood, a barely distinguishable pattern all that remained of his hastily enacted back-up plan. That act took that last bit of life he had. As his last breath escaped in a shuddering groan, he felt the harsh tug of the jutsu pulling him from his aged body, and he knew no more.

**-Years Later-**

Sakura was having a really bad day. It had only been just over a week since Naruto had killed Kakuzu, Hidan had been buried in a thousand different pieces, and they had scored a major blow against the Akatsuki. She had only been able to rest for one day after getting back from that battle, before her Shishou had sent her out on a mission to a remote village that had urgently requested Konoha's help dealing with a contagious disease. It had been a long and grueling task with very little sleep involved, but she had developed a cure and healed all the sick.

Unfortunately, on her way back to her home, it had started raining, well... pouring cats and dogs would be a more accurate description. Sakura was shivering, soaked to the bone, and running low on chakra. She desperately needed some sort of shelter to wait out this storm. By sheer luck, she came across an opening to a cave. A quick scan with her senses told her that it was empty and therefore probably safe to go inside. So she did. That was the first mistake she made.

The tunnel leading from the entrance soon opened up into a large cavern. It was dry and dusty, clear signs that no one had been here in years. The one oddity that stumped her was the fairly big wooden chair at the back of the cave. As soon as she caught sight of it, she stilled, on high alert for any sign of danger. When it became apparent that yes there was just some random chair in this random cave, she relaxed, but only a little. There was a large patch of ground behind it that looked like something huge had once occupied that space.

Sakura cocked a curious eyebrow at the scene, baffled that she was even looking at such a thing, but given that it wasn't a threat to her life, she decided it was worth investigating. Plus the wooden seat looked wide enough for her to lie down on to rest up. She made her way across the cavern to the object of her interest. Who the hell would build a chair in this place? Some sort of bizarre Cave King... or something. Fuck it, she didn't really care anyways. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm up. Her clothes were still dripping wet. With a sigh, she plopped down into the seat. Sakura did not notice the small seal activate when she sat down. That was mistake number two.

A blinding pain seared through her and she screamed. It felt like her mind was tearing apart over and over and it really fucking hurt, holy shit. She clutched at her head, her trembling body falling over on the chair and curling up into a ball. She screamed again and it felt like she was dying. A tiny thought in the back of her head whispered mockingly that death would be better than enduring this agony for another second, and then the pain was gone and she was standing in open blackness. Somehow she instinctively knew that she was inside her own mind. Sakura could not explain why she knew this, she just did. There was just one problem.

She was not alone. In front of her stood a man with long, spiky black hair with bangs covering the right side of his face. He could have been mid-twenties, early thirties at the latest, she figured. He was wearing red armor. It looked old and somehow familiar, like she had seen it before somewhere. His arms were crossed in front of him and he was giving her a critical look, as if he was judging her for everything that she was. As she processed all this, he huffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, a frown appearing on his face. Sakura didn't know what to make of this situation.

The man's arm fell back to his side and he glared at her with a dark eye. The hell was he giving her that look for?! This was her mind, and he shouldn't even be here! She held his gaze and glared right back. She bet he was responsible for this whole mess. The chair in the random cave, the pain, whatever the fuck was going on now... she knew it was his damn fault and she fully intended to beat the crap out of him. Her fists clenched and her mouth pulled into an angry sneer.

He cocked his head at her slightly, and the corner of his lips turned up just a tiny bit. Was he fucking mocking her?! She narrowed her eyes in response, a clear challenge. A single black eye closed for a second, and when it opened again, a cold rush of alarm and twinge of fear shot through Sakura. She tensed, the thought of beating him up morphing into one of self-defense, given the outcomes of her past experiences with this matter. She was now looking into a very familiar red and black pattern. An Uchiha...

"This isn't exactly what I had hoped for," the Uchiha said in a deep baritone voice, sounding somewhat exasperated, "but I suppose I'll have to make do with you."

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Madara attempts a take-over. Sakura has other ideas.


	2. Clash

**A/N:** Thanks much for the reviews: Poppy Grave Dreams, argent-snow, and Liber Fatum! It's great to know you all like the story so far. Argent-snow, I don't really have anything specific I'm looking for in reviews, just mainly what you readers like about the chapters. I really love the feedback, even if it's short and sweet. It makes me want to write faster! So leaving a review is a good thing. Again, no beta reader and probably won't ever have one.

This story will mostly be written from Sakura's PoV, so you readers probably won't get too much insight into exactly what Madara is thinking. The allure of mystery and all.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Clash-**

The Uchiha came at her without a warning, flicking out of her vision in a split second. Sakura was only saved by her deep-seated instinct to duck. She felt the whoosh of air above her head as his attack missed her by mere inches. She caught the metal flash of a kunai from the corner of her eye. He was not messing around at all. He was aiming to kill her. She had a terrible feeling that dying in her mind would mean dying for real as well. Her frantic thoughts imagined herself with that smug arrogant Uchiha look on her face. Her body, his mind, and she was out of the picture for good... There was no way she could let that happen.

She imagined a kunai in her own hand and was pleased when one appeared. Spinning to counter his next blow, she met his strike head on and blocked it with her own weapon. Sakura attempted to get the upper hand, but in the flurry of clashes that followed, she was quickly forced on the extreme defensive. She wasn't shocked, considering he was an Uchiha, but still, this was clearly a life or death situation and she could not afford to lose. He threw his kunai at her, which she countered by throwing her own one to knock his away. Given this slight opening, she pushed chakra to her feet and leaped backwards, using the short break to focus her mind. To her satisfaction, her surroundings changed from an empty blackness into a rocky landscape.

The Uchiha didn't even blink at the shift in the battle stage. He followed after her with a fierce determination and a cold, hard look in his blazing sharingan eyes, his black hair fanning out behind him like a dark cape. As he approached, Sakura smirked and punched downwards with a fist full of carefully controlled chakra. The ground exploded out in front of her, large chunks of rocks impeding that bastard's advance. He looked briefly surprised, but it didn't slow him down for long. With a speed she could barely follow, evidence of the difference in their experience, he navigated through the still falling debris and landed a harsh kick to her midsection.

Sakura yelped and curled into herself, trying to absorb the blow. She didn't even have time to catch her breath before she was pinned down by a strong hand on her throat. She gripped his wrist in reflex, trying to pry him off. The Uchiha wasn't having any of that and tightened his grip, choking her. She gasped for air and tried to kick out, but he twisted out of the way and slammed his knee down to control her legs. Her head started to swim and her lungs burned for air. In her semi-delirious state, she wondered why she needed to breathe in her own mind. That didn't make sense.

Just as she was beginning to accept that she might die right now and how much that really sucked because she wanted to live and punch this guy's fucking face in, the Uchiha was forcefully torn away from her. Sakura coughed and pushed herself up to see what the hell was going on. To her astonishment, that bastard was getting kicked around by her Inner self. She stared, wide-eyed, while her attacker twisted and danced around to avoid the rain of blows her Inner threw at him. He looked quite frustrated with the turn of events. She took a great deal of delight in that fact.

Her Inner was swearing at the Uchiha constantly, calling him names that would make even the most traveled person blush. Sakura watched with amusement as he was driven further and further away from her. She stood up slowly, rubbing her sore stomach, still sensitive from his earlier kick. Before she had time to gather her bearings, she heard her Inner shriek. She watched in horror as her defender vanished in a burst of black flames. The Uchiha came after her again and Sakura stumbled backwards, hastily getting into a guarded position. He closed the distance quickly, his face twisted into a harsh snarl, but right when he was about to engage her again, there was a bright flash of white and she was back in the cave on the wooden chair.

Sakura sat straight up in shock, looking wildly around, her senses overloaded with feeling freezing cold again, her clothes were still soaked, her chakra was still low, and the Uchiha was no where to be seen. The only sound in the empty cavern was her harsh panting. She rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times. Had that just been a dream? It had seemed so real... the feel of his hand clutching her throat, the intent to kill her...

'**Oh well, looks like I ran out of time**,' a frighteningly familiar voiced echoed in her mind. She froze, disbelief coursing through her body. There was no way... no fucking way. Oh please, please don't let this be happening. Sakura grit her teeth and buried her face in her hands. This was so bad, so very bad. A mocking laugh was the only reply to her distraught thoughts. '**That's right**,' the Uchiha said inside her head, '**You're stuck with me now**.'

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura tells Madara to get the hell out of her mind. Madara has other plans.


	3. Madara

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Dolpher, catxangel, Liber Fatum, Poppy Grave Dreams, argent-snow and Shadowlove'scookies! To clear things up, Inner Sakura isn't gone forever, since she's just a manifestation of Sakura's inner thoughts. Madara only destroyed her temporarily, but she won't be appearing in the story again. I always found it super annoying when authors would write Inner heavily into their fics, so I will not be doing that. She served her purpose.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Madara-**

"Get out," Sakura hissed, her voice the only sound in the large cavern, "Get out of my head right now!"

'**As much as I would love to do that**,' the Uchiha replied inside her mind, '**Unfortunately I can't. Believe me, I am not happy about being stuck inside a weak brat like you**.'

"Weak!?" She seethed, furious at him for daring to still be inside her head and having the nerve to insult her, then paused, the rest of his words finally sinking in with a increasing feeling of dread, "Wait, why can't you get out?"

He sighed, '**The jutsu I used to seal my soul into you only gave me a short window of opportunity to take over your body completely. It's just my luck that not only are you a pathetic weak little girl, but you have some sort of obnoxious split personality too. It delayed me just long enough to keep you alive**.' He paused for a moment and she could vaguely tell that he was quite annoyed, then he continued, '**The end result left us sharing one body. Due to the nature of the seal, I cannot get rid of you now without killing myself at the same time**.'

"My body, you mean," Sakura frowned, feeling very irritated with the situation herself.

'**Our body**,' he countered.

"No, MY body. You're just an unwanted parasite who lost to a girl," She taunted, feeling vindictive, "That's the cold, hard truth. You lost. You failed to take over my body and I'm still alive." He didn't bother to give her a reply other than an unamused snort.

Sakura rubbed her forehead and groaned, feeling a headache creeping up on her. This was just fantastic. She had an asshole of an Uchiha stuck inside her head, who moments ago had tried to murder her and steal her body, and now was insulting her with pretty much every other thing he said. She took a few deep, calming breathes. Now was not the time to panic. She was not weak, despite what Mr. Asshole said. There had to be a solution to this problem. First things first, though...

"Who are you?" she asked. Sakura knew she had seen him before somewhere but she could not put her finger on it at the moment. She was still cold, tired, and now getting hungry too.

He huffed and she could almost feel the disdainful glare he was probably sending her way. '**You are a Konoha shinobi and you don't recognize me? The standards at the academy must have slipped dramatically since I left the village**.'

"Are you going to tell me or not? I'm fine with calling you Mr. Asshole Uchiha, Traitor to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but that title is kind of long and it'll get old fast," she drawled. She couldn't help mocking him. This guy really just pissed her off.

'**Show some respect, brat**,' he replied with a hint of anger. '**You are speaking to Madara Uchiha**.'

The name rang a bell, and not in a good way. "Fuck," she whispered to herself, as the lessons of the village's founding came back to her. It made sense now, why she had felt he looked familiar. Of course she had to be stuck with the most infamous Uchiha of them all. "You're supposed to be dead," she accused. How dare he still be alive, well... kind of alive.

Madara chuckled darkly inside her head, '**Looks like you're not as brain-dead as I assumed. I never truly died. My soul never left the living world, even if I didn't have a body for some time**.'

"You're insane," she stated. "What kind of nut-job seals himself into another person?!"

'**It was not my desire to be sealed into someone like you. I was hoping ideally for another Uchiha, but my jutsu was set to activate on the first person who discovered this cave and touched the seal. You just happened to stumble upon it. Quite unlucky, no?**' She didn't bother giving him an answer, too busy cursing her luck. Madara continued in a sarcastic tone, '**Besides, who are you to call me insane when you're the one talking to yourself?**'

It was a fairly juvenile comeback but Sakura blinked, realizing that yes she had been having a conversation with the bastard in her head and had been answering him out loud every time. She decided to test a hasty theory and thought at him, '_Fuck off_.'

Madara just laughed and called her a brat again.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura heads back to Konoha. Madara invades her privacy.


	4. Threat

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Poppy Grave Dreams, argent-snow, xxYou-shall-be-my-Squishyxx, BlackFireFalcon, miss-weena, and Suzululu4moe! I love the feedback everyone is giving me. Totally on a roll here, haha. I hope I continue to keep Madara in character. I hate reading stories where he's blatantly OoC. My Sakura might be a little bit snarky but it's fun that way! Argent-snow, that possible accident you mentioned is going to happen sometime in the future. Madara can be a real dick, you know?

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Threat-**

Sakura had taken a quick nap after her annoying conversation with the Uchiha. He hadn't bothered her about it. She assumed the whole 'trying to take over your body' ordeal left him worn out too. By the time she woke up and was ready to go, the rain had stopped and her clothes were dry. She took the time to stop at a small food stand on the way back and grabbed a bite to eat. Her chakra had restored enough to allow her to cut her travel time in half.

Madara was surprisingly silent on the journey back to Konoha. Sakura had no complaints about that, however, and she could pretend he wasn't even there. It was a lot to deal with, accepting the fact that she was sharing her body with a man and there was no telling how long she'd have to deal with him. So she pushed the matter aside and focused on getting back to the village.

Words could not describe her relief when she reached Konoha's gates. It seemed like ages since she had last been home. Sakura expected a sarcastic quip from Madara about her village, given that he was the biggest asshole she'd ever met, but he remained quiet. She decided against poking him about the irony of being back in Konoha. It was nice when he shut up.

She made her way to the Hokage tower to report in with her Shishou. With any luck, if Madara kept busy with whatever the hell he was doing in the back of her mind, maybe she could get a one up on him and tell the Hokage what had happened. She still had hope that there was some way that the Uchiha could be removed from her head.

She had no idea about the properties of the seal. Was he stuck inside her and could only annoy her with his thoughts? Or worse, could he take control of her body? He hadn't shown any sign of confirming either option. Nonetheless, it was a huge risk having someone who had tried to destroy the village sealed in her, and she had to let Tsunade-shishou know.

Sakura only had to wait a few minutes in the hall before she was called in to stand before a desk stacked with over-due papers and documents. Her Shishou had been slacking again. She was a bit worried when Madara showed a slight interest in what she was doing as she reported the accomplishment of her mission to Tsunade-shishou. She went through all the details of the village's disease and how she had cured it, making sure to really draw it out and be as thorough as possible.

As she had hoped, Madara seemed to be extremely bored with the whole thing and receded back into her mind. Sakura was dismissed to go home after her report, but she hesitated. This might be her one chance to let Tsunade-shishou know that she had the Madara Uchiha sealed inside her.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me, Sakura?" the Hokage asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Yes, Shishou, actually I really need to let you know that I found this cave on my way back and-" suddenly she was choked off and found herself paralyzed inside her own body with no control over her movements.

Madara tsked, '**I don't think so**.'

"Sakura?" Her Shishou prompted, "You found a cave and..?"

She watched in silent horror as her body smiled in mock innocence and her mouth opened to reply, "I found some herbs I have never seen before. They might be useful if we can identify them."

The Hokage gave her a flat look, clearly unamused. "I really don't have time for this right now, Sakura. We can discuss it later. I'm very busy. Go home and get some sleep."

"Yes, Shishou," her body said. Madara walked her... their body out the door and towards the exit as the Hokage got back to work.

'_You're a real bastard! How dare you!?_' Sakura screamed at him, trying to wrestle control of her body back. He easily crushed her will with his own.

'**Be quiet**,' Madara ordered in a no-nonsense tone, '**You will not attempt that again. You will not let anyone know that I'm sealed inside of you, understood?**'

'_Fuck you!_' she shrieked, struggling in vain to turn around and go back to her Shishou and tell her everything that had really happened.

Madara stopped suddenly and she paused. '**Listen, little girl, look how easily I took control of this body. Think about how easy it would be for me to go up to anyone who trusts you and slit their throats. They wouldn't even have a chance to defend**.' Sakura reeled in a terrible mix of terror and dread. Her Uchiha-controlled body smirked at her reaction. '**Now, I'm willing to leave your friends alone if you keep our secret. Agreed?**'

'_Why..?_' She whispered, confused and scared and shaken. This was the worst possible outcome. She could not let him kill her friends. But why would he offer a deal to her?

'**I have no obligation to discuss my reasons with you**,' Madara answered, and continued walking her body through Konoha.

'_I want my body back_,' Sakura demanded after a moment, '_You have no right to take control. You are... you're violating me and it's wrong, so give it back!_'

Madara sighed inside her mind, '**I don't intend to take permanent control of this weak body. In fact, I don't intend to be stuck with you for longer than I have to be**.' Sakura felt a tiny blossom of hope at his admission. She imagined a future without the Uchiha inside her mind, a goal that they both apparently shared. '**Do you agree, brat?**'

'_Leave my friends alone and give me my body back and I promise I won't tell anyone about you_,' Sakura vowed.

'**I will share this body with you, however I will allow you to be in control most of the time. Your other terms are acceptable**,' Madara replied.

She wasn't happy about having to give him even a second of control, but she felt that she was getting the better end of the deal here. Sakura was insulted that he was arrogant enough to bargain control of her own body. Though given how easily he had shoved her to the side and taken over, there wouldn't be much she could do if he decided to take over completely.

She hated to admit it, but he was being considerably generous and she had her friends' lives to think about too. '_You promise to not destroy Konoha as well, and we have a deal_,' she said.

'**Fine**,' Madara huffed and ceded control back to her. She found herself standing in front of her apartment door. What the hell? When did she get here?

Baffled, she asked, '_How did you know where I live..?_'

'**Oh, that**,' Madara hummed, '**I was going through your memories earlier**.' He laughed, '**I thought it was bad now, but you were unbelievably pathetic and weak when you were younger. Disgusting**.'

Sakura punched a hole in her door.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura realizes how awkward it is to share a body with a man. Madara is once again disgusted.


	5. Privacy

**A/N:** Thanks much for the reviews: Liber Fatum, BlackFireFalcon, argent-snow, and Poppy Grave Dreams! Fixed the typo as soon as you pointed it out, Liber Fatum. Thanks for that. As for when Madara was sealed in his throne, he'll tell Sakura sometime later, but he wasn't consciously aware of time passing. It was like a state of suspended animation. Rinne Tensei can bring people back from the state in between life and death (Kakashi), so Madara can still be brought back by it. Not that he will. He won't be happy about the whole Nagato thing, rofl.

Again, please do drop me a review if you like the story. It is truly good motivation for me to write faster!

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Privacy-**

'_So_,' Sakura began angrily as she taped a piece of cardboard over the hole she'd punched through her door, '_What gives you the right to go through my memories? Hmm? Ever heard of respecting personal space and privacy?!_'

'**You do not tell Madara Uchiha what he can and cannot do, little girl**,' the asshole inside her head replied with an aggravating haughty tone.

She growled in fury, this man was impossible to deal with! It was going to be hell to live with him for however long she'd be stuck with him. Even if they'd made a deal and would put up with this situation, well... it was more like he blackmailed her, that bastard... she doubted they could ever be civil to each other. After locking the door, she stormed through her apartment, going through her routine preparations for sleep. Despite her nap in the cave earlier, she was starting to feel truly exhausted.

'_You know, since you INVADED my private memories, which I will never forgive you for, just so you know, I have every right to go through YOUR memories_,' Sakura declared.

Madara laughed, '**I don't think so**.'

'_I'm going to do it anyways_,' she decided, and focused inwards, willing the Uchiha's memories to appear before her.

'**Nice try, but the seal doesn't work like that. It's one-way only**,' his amused voice taunted in her mind.

How totally fucking unfair, but she wasn't really surprised. He was the king of dicks. '_I would like to state for the record that you are the most obnoxious bastard to have ever lived. You have no sense of decency, your head is shoved up your own ass so far you will never see daylight again, and if you were dying on the side of the road somewhere from dehydration, I wouldn't even spit on you. You're an insane psychopath and you should have just died for real long ago_,' Sakura informed him with the most serious tone she could muster up.

She got the vague impression of a raised eyebrow. It wasn't the first time she'd felt his emotions or, even stranger, his reactions. Must be a property of the seal. '**That's it? I've been called much worse in the past**,' he told her.

She humphed. No doubt that was true. He deserved all the verbal and physical abuse he got. Sakura ignored him and continued her nightly routine, but soon a growing problem stopped her in her tracks. While she could skip a shower, she really had to use the bathroom. She had to pee and she currently had a man sealed inside her. Fuck her life. Sakura groaned in misery and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't just not go. That wasn't an option.

'_Madara..._' she hesitated, but felt his attention return to her. He seemed curious that she had addressed him by his name instead of the usual asshole or bastard. So far, he tended to often sink into the back of her mind whenever they weren't talking. Probably to invade more of her memories since he was really such a gentleman. Though given how he had stopped her from telling her Shishou about him, there was no doubt he was always paying attention. She hated the fact that she was even in this awkward position in the first place, '_I need to use the bathroom. Can you... can you turn around or something?_'

As she predicted, a wave of mild disgust hit her. She did not foresee his reply, however. '**No**,' he said.

'_No?!_' Sakura shrieked in disbelief, '_No you can't, or no you won't?_!'

'**I won't**,' Madara drawled, unconcerned about her embarrassing situation. She knew from his answer that he most likely could give her some privacy, he was just being his usual dick self and making her life a torrent of suffering and misery.

'_Why the hell not?_' she asked desperately, '_Come on, please? This is weird enough already and I'd rather not make it worse_.'

'**You insulted me and now you ask me for a favor?**' the Uchiha countered, '**I don't care if you are upset about me watching you piss or not. I'm not granting your request.**'

Was he seriously doing this to her and holding what she said against her?! Sakura was beginning to have doubts about the level of his maturity. Or maybe his sanity was slipping with old age. She clenched her jaw and forced herself to not give into the temptation to swear colorfully at him and call him a pervert. That would not help her here. Right now she needed to calm down and take a blow to her pride.

'_Look, Madara, I'm really sorry for what I said_,' Sakura managed to grit out, hating the fact that was forced to stoop to this level, '_This whole sharing a body thing is really stressful and if we're going to be stuck together for a while, then I think it's a good idea to try to get along. I'll try to be more respectful and I would greatly appreciate if you'd give me this tiny bit of privacy when I need it. Please_.'

Madara hummed, considering her plea. She waited in shameful agony, still needing to pee really badly, fully aware that he was drawing it out just to torment her. Finally he said, '**Very well, but in exchange, you will have to do me a favor in the future. No questions asked**.'

Despite knowing deep down that a favor with no restrictions was a bad idea, Sakura accepted with a strained tone, '_Fine. Thank you. Now please turn around so I can go?_'

The feel of what she could only describe as a door slamming echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes, probing for his presence, and was delighted to find only an absence. Maybe he could be civil sometimes, if just barely? She could only hope so. She really didn't want to be making all the effort here. Seizing the chance, she rushed to the bathroom and took care of business, taking the time to slip on her pajamas as well. When she was done, Sakura hesitantly informed him, unsure if he could hear her from wherever he had retreated to inside her head.

He did. To her disappointment, she felt Madara emerge from the depths of her mind. He immediately dashed her hopes for possibly getting along with him without always insulting each other and making her want to beat the crap out of him with a snide remark, '**You're finally done? That took forever. Women really are vile and disgusting creatures. It's a shame you're not a man, though that would be even worse, now that I think about it. At least as a female you have an excuse for being weak**.'

Sakura bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood and refused to answer him with her own tirade. Instead, she pointedly ignored him, much to his amusement, and flung herself onto her bed. Words were cheap anyways, she thought bitterly. She would prove him wrong with her actions, even if he was an insufferable, sexist pig who never missed an opportunity to push her buttons. She punched her pillow a few times, imagining it to be Madara's smug face, before turning over, cursing her luck, and eventually drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura decides to go to the library for a history review. Madara decides to take a detour along the way.


	6. Clan

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: BlackFireFalcon, Liber Fatum, and argent-snow! Madara will have his sexist streak for a while, but eventually Sakura will beat it out of him yes, if only just when it comes to her. It won't be for quite a few chapters though. They can only barely tolerate each other at this point lol. Madara enjoys pissing her off and taking his frustration about being stuck inside a girl out on her, and Sakura hates to take anything sitting down when she doesn't have to.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Clan-**

The next morning, Sakura was pleased to find that Madara would grant her a moment of privacy whenever she needed to use the bathroom, take a shower, or change. Not that it gave him many bonus points in her book. He had been taking every chance to point out how inferior she was as a person and a shinobi. From the way she organized her room to the way she cleaned her weapons, nothing was good enough for him. It was incredibly irritating and it tested her patience to the limit. Luckily, a good night's sleep had done wonders for her.

She had resolved to try her best to make this whole experience as easy as possible even if her gesture wasn't reciprocated, but she already felt the cracks forming in her composure. She was proud that so far she'd only replied to him by telling him to shut up, though it was only a matter of time before she'd snap and give him a verbal lashing. She wished she could give him a good physical beating. He certainly deserved it.

Sakura was still very annoyed that Madara had access to her memories and she had nothing in exchange. The best she could do would be to review his past in the library. While she knew the general timeline of events, it would do no harm to re-read and ensure she hadn't missed any details. She didn't bother telling him about her plan. He would find out soon enough anyways.

Unfortunately, Madara apparently had a plan of his own. Halfway to the library, he suddenly hijacked her body and walked her in another direction. '_Oi!_' she objected, angry that he hadn't even given her a warning, '_What are you doing?_' He didn't answer her and when she realized where he was headed, she didn't press the matter.

After a few minutes, Sakura found herself standing at the entrance to the deserted Uchiha compound. She remained quiet, unsure if she should say anything or not. Madara broke the silence and asked, '**Brat, what happened here?'**

'_Why are you asking me? Didn't you go through my memories?_' she replied, conflicted about how she should handle this subject.

Madara sighed impatiently, '**I've barely had time to look at the most relevant ones. I haven't had a chance to go through any that don't pertain directly to you. Now, explain**.'

Well how fucking nice that he hadn't invaded ALL of her past. Yet. Still, Sakura was unsure how he'd react to the information he was asking for. '_They were massacred, all but one of them_,' she informed him in a careful tone. She couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

'**Hmm... then your teammate was that survivor. What was his name again? Sasuke?**' Sakura mentally flinched when he said that name. Ignoring her reaction, Madara continued, '**Who killed them all?**'

So he knew about Sasuke, if just his name, but didn't know his brother murdered their whole clan? However... she didn't really have a choice but to fill him in. It was preferable to tell him herself rather than have him dig through her memories for the answer. '_Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother_,' she told him.

'**An Uchiha did this?**' Madara asked in slight disbelief, **'Why?**'

'_He was insane, a psychopath, obsessed with power and willing to kill his whole family and torture his brother for it_,' Sakura replied, and at the risk of pissing him off, added, '_You two could relate_.'

He snorted but didn't take her bait. Sakura waited for him to say something. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. When she couldn't take the tension anymore, she asked, '_Well? Are you mad that your whole clan is dead?_'

'**No**,' he answered. She could tell he was being completely honest, which baffled her.

'_Why aren't you angry about it?_' Sakura asked. She really did want to know. It took him a moment to get back to her, but when he did, she was surprised by his reply.

'**They betrayed me, turned their backs on me after all I did for them. Why should I care if they all died?**' Madara scoffed. She felt a strange mix of annoyance and several other emotions she couldn't identify radiate across their link. '**It won't matter anyways**.'

'_It won't...?_' She prompted, curious to know what he meant by that. She had a feeling that she should be suspicious of his statement.

'**Hn**,' was all Madara said. A clear signal that their conversation was at an end. Typical Uchiha. Sakura sighed and nudged him for control of her body again. He sent her a mental glare, but relinquished command to her. With one last glance at the empty compound, she continued her journey to the library. A few minutes had passed when Madara interrupted the silence, '**Have you ever considered that there could be more to the story than what you know?**'

Sakura stopped and blinked, '_What?_'

She felt a mental facepalm and another annoyed sigh from Madara. '**Nevermind**,' he dismissed, giving her the cold shoulder. She huffed, frowning at his lack of manners. She tried to ignore it, but she was vaguely unsettled after their whole conversation.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura gets a history lesson from Madara.


	7. History

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: BlackFireFalcon, Liber Fatum, argent-snow, and Poppy Grave Dreams! You guys are the best! Madara doesn't know the truth about the massacre (yet), but he deeply suspects there's more to it than what it appears to be. He doesn't trust the Senjus at all lol. We'll find out later more about how he really feels about his clan's death. He still isn't mad that they all died, but there's deeper layers to it. And you're right, Liber Faturm, Madara will slowly open Sakura's eyes to the darker side of Konoha.

Work is cutting into my writing time. Need more 3-day weekends. Review if you like the chapter! Even a short word is nice.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-History-**

Sakura was hunched over a book reading the history of Konoha's founding. Madara had been amused when he found out what she was up to, a welcome change from the awkward and tense silence after their detour to the Uchiha compound. She really did not like the guy, and she believed him when he said he wasn't mad about the massacre, but she doubted even he could be totally unaffected by something like that. However, she did not pursue the matter.

She thought she was doing pretty well with her resolve to try to get along with him... so far. Even though it'd only been under half a day. Still! Sakura wasn't a weak little girl and she would show him that. She'd become much stronger since training under Tsunade-shishou and she was fully capable of reigning in her temper when she wanted to... if she wanted to.

She felt it was totally fair to get in a few well-deserved jibes especially after he threatened her friends, tried to kill her and take over her body, mocked and insulted her, and was in general an insufferable asshole. As much as Sakura wanted to beat him into the dirt, she was fully aware of the reality of her situation, stuck sharing a body with him, so she would try to refrain from seriously pissing him off. She knew Madara was fully capable of making her life a living hell. Stick to your resolve, she told herself. Eventually this would be over and things would go back to normal.

Shaking her head, she refocused on the book. Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage, had waged war against the Uchihas and been victorious. Beaten and forced into a corner, the Uchiha clan, led by Madara at the time, had surrendered and accepted Hashirama's proposal to join the two clans within one settlement. Although the Uchihas had previously rejected the idea of the village and peace between the warring clans, upon defeat Madara had pleaded with the Senju to reconsider. Hashirama, in a gesture of good will, ordered his clan to stand down and offered the hand of friendship to the Uchihas. The Senju leader was a major factor in the village's quick growth, using his mokuton to create the foundations of the actual buildings and pursing alliances with other clans. Soon Hashirama was named Hokage, leader of the village, a title he was happy to accept. After naming the settlement Konoha, the Senju leader focused his efforts on...

Sakura became aware of a deep laughter echoing in the depths of her mind. Fantastic, interrupting her when she was reading. '_What?!_' she snapped.

Madara's laughter died down into an amused chuckle. '**That's what they're teaching you? The victor really does write history**.'

Annoyed, she grumbled, '_Are you saying the book is wrong?_'

'**Very wrong**,' he drawled.

'_Oh then, since you're an expert at this, old man, please enlighten me as to what really happened_,' Sakura challenged, leaning back in her seat and eyeing the ceiling while she stretched out.

He humphed at her insult but answered her anyways, '**First of all, I was not the one to plead, as the book put it, for peace between my clan and the Senju. Hashirama begged me to create the village with him**.'

'_Really?_' she asked, a frown appearing on her face, half doubting his words. Was he lying to her, or was he telling the truth?

'**Yes**,' Madara affirmed, '**But do not interrupt me again. Hashirama was even willing to kill himself to bring our clans together**.' Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. '**I stopped him before he could**.' He paused for a moment before continuing, a hint of anger in his tone, '**He wanted me to lead Konoha, though he caved to political pressure, went back on his word, and accepted the position himself. Lastly, I was the one to name the village. Not him**.'

Sakura pondered this new information for a moment. Madara's version of events was significantly different from what the book said. Especially his claim about naming the village and Hashirama wanting him to be Hokage. '_Why would the book be incorrect? Why would Konoha lie about its own history?_' she asked.

Madara scoffed, clearly annoyed with her, '**Did you not hear me just now? The victor always writes history**.'

'_How do I know that you're the one telling the truth, and not what's written in this book?_' Sakura wondered, half asking him and half pondering the question herself.

'**You don't**,' he replied, '**But let me ask you this... why do you think I would lie to you about it?**' She crossed her arms and thought hard about it for a good few minutes. Other than just trying to mess with her head or being spiteful about the first Hokage, she couldn't come up with a good reason as to why he would.

'_Are you sure you're not just mad that Hashirama Senju beat you?_' Sakura asked him, half in jest, still trying to decide what to believe.

Madara's reaction was immediate. A fierce wave of anger and annoyance poured into her mind and she flinched at the sheer force of it. '**Do not say that name to me again, little girl**,' he almost hissed.

Despite being a little bit thrown off by the amount of hate he clearly had for the first Hokage, she really honestly could not resist the temptation to poke the bear, as the saying went. She knew she shouldn't do it, she knew it was a bad idea, a very bad idea... but she gave in.

With a cheshire cat grin slowly spreading across her face, she asked in a sing-song tone, '_What? Ha-shi-ra-maaa?_'

Icy silence as her taunt registered, then, '**You will regret your disrespect, you brat**,' Madara warned her in tone so cold it sent chills down her spine. She knew he wasn't making an idle threat either. Still, whatever he did, it would totally be worth it. Sakura now had an easy way to really get under his skin.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Madara makes good on his threat. Sakura still thinks it's worth it.


	8. Jailer

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: GoldenPiggy, Poppy Grave Dreams, argent-snow, Liber Fatum, and anon guest! Madara's not going to turn 'good' in this story, but Sakura will change his mind on something critical. No spoilers other than that. Liber Fatum, Madara's little revenge schemes will always be petty, childish, and spiteful lol. He can't do anything lethal or serious, since he's sharing a body, Sakura dying would mean he would die too (though he does still have Obito in play), and Sakura getting badly injured would be a major annoyance to him. So for now he amuses himself with silly games.

I'm going with Hashirama's flashback as canon, but Madara's perception of the event is kinda twisted, as you read. I'll be exploring the reasons why in later chapters. There are several factors as to why his view on it is warped. Madara is really biased yes, and I'll do my best to keep that in mind, especially when I get to the part where his past comes up again. Sakura will be a part of it, but again no spoilers other than she will find out what really happened eventually. I'll also be doing more with the pro-Konoha victor writing history thing later on, probably near the Pein arc (for obvious reasons).

As for the Edo Tensei casted by Kabuto, that will still happen. How will it affect Sakura? You'll just have to wait and see.

Review if you have a few seconds to drop me a line! This chapter ran on longer than I thought it would, but more for you guys to read. Also, the dark twist and shit getting real. Tell me if you like it. There will be more humor later of course, but reality bites now and then.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Jailer-**

Madara made good on his threat when Sakura was making her way back to her apartment. It seemed to almost happen in slow motion. She heard her name being called by a familiar voice... Naruto. As she turned mid-stride to catch sight of him, she felt a sudden numbness in her foot. It twisted out at an odd angle and caught the ground. A pair of bright blue eyes stared in shock as she promptly face-planted into the dirt. A few heads turned to watch the spectacle. The seconds felt like eons while her face heated up in embarrassment. It suddenly clicked.

'_That?! That's your revenge?!_' she mentally asked Madara in astonishment, '_Making me trip? Really? How childish and immature can you get?_'

'**It will be worse if there's a next time**,' he told her, unbothered by her mild insults. '**Consider this a fair warning. You should appreciate my generosity, little girl. I-**'

'_I have a name, you know_,' Sakura interrupted.

Madara snorted, '**I really don't care**.'

'_You're a dick_,' she informed him honestly. He really was. A hypocrite too. Demanding respect and giving none in return. Seriously, Uchihas. If tripping her was his idea of solid revenge then she could deal with it. Totally worth her ace up the sleeve of mentioning the first Hokage's name. Maybe she should save that card for when she really needed it, though. Over-using it would lessen the effect. She was about to continue the mental banter with Mr. Asshole when she realized she was still face-down in the road.

A hand gently touched her shoulder, "Uh... Sakura? Are you alright?" Naruto asked. She turned her face to look up at him. He wasn't laughing or holding any sort of amusement back. He truly looked concerned. Such a good friend. She was a bit worried when she felt Madara's attention zero in on Naruto.

"Yeah I'm fine, Naruto. Just a little clumsy today!" she laughed awkwardly, and took his hand to help her up. Sakura brushed the dirt off her clothes. Still aware that she was getting curious looks from the nearby civilians, she grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him with her, fleeing the scene of her embarrassment.

"Glad you're okay, Sakura!" Naruto chirped as he kept pace with her. She gave him a smile in return. "Got any plans for today?" he asked.

"No, nothing for today. I have a shift tomorrow at the hospital though," she replied. Four hours of healing injured shinobi while the Uchiha inevitably made mocking quips about her and her patients. She almost groaned at the thought of it. The pair slowed down into a walk, taking the empty back allies to keep away from the crowded streets.

"Great! Do you want to come to lunch with me and some others?" Naruto asked with a cheerful grin on his face. "Ino will be there, and she was going to ask Shikamaru and Choji. Kiba's coming, and Hinata and Neji too! It should be a lot of fun. We're supposed to meet at the place in half an hour, so we have time to find Bushy-brows and Tenten."

As Naruto rambled, she felt a shock of mild surprise from her head-mate and Madara hissed in her mind, '**The Kyuubi...**'

Sakura stiffened, suddenly very afraid for Naruto. The Uchiha had commanded the tailed beast in his epic battle with the first Hokage before it had been subdued. No way was she going to let Madara hurt Naruto or get his hands on the fox again. '_Remember the deal. Naruto is my friend_,' she warned the Uchiha.

He huffed, '**No need to remind me. I'm perfectly aware. Still... I did not expect the Kyuubi to still be sealed inside a Jinchuuriki...**' Madara trailed off into a mutter to himself, his tone annoyed, '**What has he been doing all this time..?**'

'_Naruto_.' Sakura corrected him, at the same time filing away his reference to a mysterious man for further investigation later. Did he have a living partner? That was seriously worrying.

'**...What?**' Madara's attention snapped back to her.

'_His name is Naruto. Not Jinchuuriki. Not vessel. Not Kyuubi_,' she stated.

He was silent for a few seconds, and before she could try to mentally probe for his reaction, he said, '**Again, I really don't care**.'

Sakura fumed, offended on behalf of her best friend. '_Listen here, Uchiha, Naruto is one of the strongest people I've ever met. He's kind, compassionate, and always puts others before himself. He deserves respect. He's suffered enough because of that fox and if you think I'll let you-_'

'**Enough**,' Madara interrupted her in a sharp tone. She could feel his strong annoyance and exasperation with her ranting. '**I've been through your memories of him. I do not need a lecture**.'

Clenching her jaw in rage, Sakura was about to let him have it when Naruto interrupted her, "Uh... Sakura...?"

She blinked and found herself staring into worried and somewhat frightened blue eyes. Realizing that her face had twisted into a murderous scowl, Sakura took a step back and forced her features to relax. How long had she been standing still talking to that bastard inside her mind? Fuck.

Suddenly having lunch with her friends didn't seem like a good idea. In fact, being around any of her friends at all didn't seem like a good idea. With how easily she lost track of reality dealing with Madara and his ability to take control of her body whenever he wanted, not to mention his apparent delight in making her miserable, there was no telling what crap he would put her through.

They had made a deal that he wouldn't harm her friends, but he could easily fuck up her relationships with them and ruin her social standing with well-timed embarrassments. In a thought she immediately felt guilty for even having, she compared her situation with how Naruto must have felt in the past, ostracized with the Kyuubi sealed inside him. Only his isolation wasn't by choice. Hers would be. She would be Madara Uchiha's jailer, like Naruto was for the fox, the difference being the lack of bars separating her from her prisoner. She felt terrible for even comparing herself to her friend, but she couldn't help the wave of self-pity and bizarre sense of duty that she must do this to protect Konoha.

The sheer seriousness of her predicament suddenly hit her like a bucket of ice water and she felt stupid for not realizing the severity of it before, having only been concerned about her own life. Sakura pictured herself standing alone, away from her friends, her teachers, her mentor... the sole person keeping Madara from destroying the village. Sure he wouldn't try to attack her home while he was still sealed inside of her, but what about when he got out? He had said he didn't intend to be stuck inside of her for longer than he had to... so he had some plan to break the seal and leave her body. Would the process kill her? She felt terrified. In the past when he was still alive he had come after Konoha. The first Hokage had been the only one to fend him off and he was dead now. She had no doubt Madara would attack the village again as soon as he was free of her. He would go after Naruto for the fox too...

She couldn't let that happen. While Sakura absolutely hated the thought of being stuck with the Uchiha for the rest of her life, she was a strong shinobi. She could made the sacrifice for her village. She could deal with whatever pain and suffering Madara put her through. He was bound to not be happy with her decision, but she could make sure he never left her body. She would not be selfish and allow him to escape the seal. No matter what. For Naruto, she told herself. For Konoha. Even if it cost her her life...

She felt overwhelmed with how fast everything was happening. From being furious about having the Uchiha sealed inside her, to being determined to be free of him, resolving to try to get along with him somewhat while she was stuck with him, then impulsively engaging in childish one-up insults with him, to finally deciding to be his jailer to protect her friends and village... her head swam with it all. So many emotions and threats and realizations. It had only been about two days... two very short days. She could barely keep up with everything.

Naruto looked more worried now, and Sakura wondered how long she'd been standing there lost in her thoughts. Without betraying her emotions, she said, "Sorry Naruto... I'm not really feeling up to it. Another time?"

He looked disappointed, but waved it off, "Sure! No problem, Sakura. I hope you feel better. See you later!"

With a level of sadness she'd only felt a few times ever before, she watched Naruto form the seals for the kage bunshin. He and his two clones jumped off in different directions in search of their friends, intending to finish the invites for lunch, leaving her alone, fists clenched.

'**Well well, looks like you're not as stupid as I thought you were**,' Madara's darkly amused voice echoed in her head. '**Before you ask, yes, I was reading your thoughts**.'

Sakura grit her teeth, '_I'll kill myself before I let you out of my body. That would kill you too, right? Since your soul is sealed inside of me_.'

He just laughed, '**Yes it would**,' the Uchiha confirmed, much to her relief that she did have a fail-safe option, assuming she could pull it off without his interference, '**I've mentioned that before. You don't have that great of a memory, do you?**' Madara chuckled again, '**But you don't have to worry about Konoha. While I would enjoy seeing this village razed to the ground, I have more important things to do once I'm free of you**.'

'_Oh? Like what? And what about Naruto? And how would you even leave my body?_' Sakura pried, desperate for more information, and half freaked out that he was already aware of her decision. She was shaken up from her thoughts just now, and was extremely worried that he didn't seem to be even remotely concerned that she was threatening to kill them both. Apparently death didn't phase him at all. That... or he had his own fail-safe, which was an even worse thought.

'**Hmm... I'm not willing to part with that information for free**,' Madara taunted, still very amused and clearly enjoying the mental game.

'_You have a price then?_' Sakura took the bait.

'**Go home. I want to test out an idea**,' the Uchiha commanded her, '**Your Jinchuuriki friend inspired me**.'

'_His name is Naruto_,' Sakura corrected once again, '_And if I do this, you'll answer my questions?_' she asked, hesitant to give in to his demand. Not that it would matter. He could just take control and walk them both home himself.

'**One for one**,' Madara replied, '**If my idea is successful, then I'll tell you one thing you want to know**.'

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She did not trust him to keep his word, but it was a chance to gain more information from him. Knowledge was power, and anything she could possibly get from him would benefit her in the long run. She was also sort of glad that the conversation had been directed away from her decision to keep him sealed inside her. The less he thought about it, the better.

'_Okay_,' she agreed, despite her better judgement, and took them both back to her apartment.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Madara finds a loophole in the seal. Sakura is presented with a difficult question.


	9. Loophole

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Poppy Grave Dreams, ya-cho, GoldenPiggy, The Imperfect Me, argent-snow, Of Healing Love, Murithemagnificant, and Musical cake. Glad you new reviewers are liking the story! I'm doing my best to keep both Madara and Sakura in character, though I am not nearly as obsessed with Sakura's character as I am Madara's, lol. Trying to stick to her core personality traits and just roll with it. I do spend a good chunk of time thinking over the story in my head and how exactly the two should be reacting to situations based on their canon characters, especially for early on in the plot. Like literally every time I type a line for Madara, I ask myself if I can picture him saying it. Since I write from Sakura's pov, it's critical I think a lot about Madara's personality, knowledge of current events, mood, and goals too. His actions might not make sense to Sakura sometimes, but he does have a reason for every action he takes or thing he says (mostly, sometime's he's just being petty and spiteful rofl).

This was a hard chapter to write. Took longer than expected. Let me know what you think of Madara's loophole in the seal.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Loophole-**

'_Alright, we're here_,' Sakura told Madara as she closed her apartment door behind her, walking into her living room. '_Now what do you want to do?_'

The Uchiha immediately took control of her body, ignored her protest, and formed the seal for a kage bunshin. A Sakura clone popped into existence a few feet away. She was about to question Madara what the hell he was doing when she felt a terrible strain tearing at her body and mind, like she was being ripped in half. She would have collapsed to her knees if she had been in control of her own body, but instead all she could do was scream inside her own head.

'_Stop!_' Sakura cried out, the pain becoming unbearable. It was far worse than the one time she had been pierced by Sasori's poisoned blade. It felt like someone was trying to rip her insides out and putting her through what she imagined Tsukuyomi must feel like at the same time. '_You're killing me! Stop it!_'

Madara ignored her plea and with one final blinding tear, a flash of white pain behind her eyes, it was over. She collapsed on the floor, panting. The pain was quickly fading, but her whole body ached. Sakura doubled over, grabbing her head with both her hands as she tried to gather her bearings. What had that bastard done?! After taking a few deep breaths, she focused inward to really let him have it when she noticed it.

He was gone. She couldn't feel his presence. He wasn't inside her head.

She immediately panicked. Fucking hell, he was gone and it was her fault and everyone and everything she loved was in danger because she had failed and let Madara out. Sakura staggered to her feet, mind racing and unsure how she should proceed, but she had to do something, anything. She looked over at her clone and realized exactly where Madara had gone. There was no way she could ever fake that smug Uchiha look.

It suddenly clicked. The tearing sensation, the pain, his mention of Naruto inspiring him. He had somehow left her own body to enter her clone. She watched, dumbfounded, as he stretched his... her? arms and shoulders, looking very pleased with his success.

"How... how did you do it?" Sakura asked, catching his attention. It was odd, looking into her own eyes but seeing someone else there. She suddenly remembered her anger. "You could have at least given me some warning!" she yelled, "That fucking hurt, you bastard!" She winced and cut her scolding short as a sharp pain flared through her body.

Madara didn't answer right away. He formed the hand signs for the henge jutsu and with a puff of smoke, the form of her clone was replaced by his own body. He was wearing the same solid black underclothes she had first met him in, back when they had battled inside her mind, but missing the classic red armor. He lazily collapsed on the couch behind him, stretching out and looking like he owned it. Fucking smug Uchiha.

Sakura remained standing, on guard and avoiding looking at his eyes. Madara noticed this and chuckled, "Little girl, this is a transformation of your clone. Sharingan is a kekkai genkai." He was looking at her like she was an idiot.

Oh... that's right. She ducked her head to hide an embarrassed blush, and almost facepalmed with how obvious it was. The henge jutsu was a low level technique. It couldn't copy or mimic bloodline limits. She was not an Uchiha, and Madara was technically using her body, so no Sharingan. Still, she couldn't let her defense down around him, not even for one second.

Refocused, Sakura pointed at him and said with a firm tone, "You owe me answers. Your idea worked, so talk."

If Madara was annoyed at her attitude, he didn't let it show. He crossed his arms and replied, "To answer your first question, the seal I used to transfer my soul into you is my own design. I fully understand the limits and how to exploit them. Using a clone for a body is merely a loophole and a good way to temporarily alleviate the annoyance of being sealed inside a weakling. Unfortunately, in the end I'm still stuck inside the real you."

Sakura was more relieved to hear that than she was pissed off at the insults. So he hadn't truly escaped and she was still his host body. She was still fairly angry that he had put her through that intense pain with no warning, however. "That really did hurt, you know," she scowled at him. He raised a mocking eyebrow, clearly uncaring. She bet the process hadn't even affected him at all.

She lifted her hands and placed them in the position that would end the clone technique. Madara noticed this and glared at her, tensing. "Don't even think about it," he warned, "I'll just force you to go through all that again." Sakura didn't back down, but didn't release the jutsu either, leaving the threat open ended. While she definitely did not want to experience the tearing pain again, she needed answers.

"Now," she began, "You promised to tell me about your plans. Why go through all the trouble to set up a way for you to be resurrected? How would you free yourself from my body? What do you plan to do with Naruto?"

Madara held up a hand, silencing her. "Quiet. I said I'd answer one question, brat. Be grateful that I'm even keeping my word."

Sakura clenched her teeth and growled in the back of her throat, "Fine. Talk." Another shiver of pain ran through her aching body. She felt strained in a weird sort of way. She would accept one answer from him now. She would get the others later, she promised herself.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his expression pensive. When she was about to open her mouth and demand he get on with it already, Madara straightened up and looked at her again. He finally said, "In order to answer you, I need to go over a few concepts first. Pay attention and think," he stressed the last word. She nodded, unsure where he was going with this.

"This world is full of things that don't go the way you want. As you live longer, you realize that reality is just made of pain, suffering, and emptiness. Where there is light, there are also shadows. As long as the concept of winners exists, there will also be losers. The selfish desire of wanting to maintain the peace causes wars, and hatred is born to protect love." Madara spoke as though he truly believed every word he was saying. It might have been the longest she'd ever heard him talk. "They are casual relationships that can't be avoided... normally."

Sakura took a few minutes to mull over his words, trying to ignore the ever increasing headache she had. Madara watched her carefully but did not say anything more, giving her the silence she needed to think. What he said... made sense... mostly. She couldn't find any fault with his logic, although she did disagree with the what he defined reality as and that bit about peace, wars, hatred, and love. Instead of voicing her dissent, she focused on the last statement, which he had obviously intended to draw her attention to, humored him and asked, "You said those relationships can't be avoided normally. Do you mean you found a way to do it... to separate the positive from the negative?"

Madara inclined his head, "I have." He had a mildly pleased look in his dark eyes. She briefly wondered if he had expected her to not understand his ideas. It said a lot about how he viewed her, she thought with a twinge of irritation.

Shaking her head and getting back on track, with a slight frown, Sakura objected, "That's impossible, though. To use one of your examples, if there was a competition between two people, one would always be the winner and one would always be the loser. Excluding a tie, there isn't a situation where both would be winners. By your logic, that'd be defying reality." The Uchiha smirked knowingly, as if she had just told him a joke. She paused for a few seconds, unsure of what to make of his expression, confused as hell, and hating how the weird ache inside her was growing worse. "How would you do it, then?" she asked, half believing that he was just fucking around with her. Although, the look on his face when he was talking about it, he had been completely serious...

"That counts as another question. For now, it will remain my secret," Madara told her, intending to end the conversation. His body language and tone were dismissive.

She suppressed an annoyed growl and the urge to punch him in the face. "You didn't even really answer the first one!"

The Uchiha sighed, annoyed, "I did. If you're unable to truly comprehend what I said, that's your problem."

Sakura sputtered at the insult, finally losing her temper after everything that had happened during this stressful day, on top of feeling like utter crap, "What?! I asked you what your plans were, you told me you'd give me an answer, and instead you gave me a speech about peace and war, love and hate, light and shadows and how you would split them all apart, which isn't possible by the way, no matter what you say. How is that an answer?! It makes no sense!"

Madara still looked a bit irritated with her, but her ranting seemed to amuse him. "It doesn't have to make sense, I'll be defying reality," he mocked, quoting her words from earlier. She was about to continue her tirade when he stood up suddenly, shocking her into silence. She immediately tensed, not trusting him in the slightest. He looked down at her, "I could tell you understood me when I explained the base ideas. Keeping them in mind, how would you go about ridding the world of all the suffering, the hate, the wars? How would you eliminate the concept of losers, so that everyone would be winners?"

His dark eyes demanded an answer. Sakura wavered, her mind foggy and headache pulsing, unable to seriously think. She fought back another wave of pain and searched her brain, very quickly coming up with nothing. She could not think of a realistic solution to the question. "I don't know," she admitted. Much to her displeasure, he only looked smug at her inability to give him a real answer. She was feeling dizzy now, and while she did mostly understand what Madara was talking about, it conflicted with the evil villain image she had painted him with. On a whim, she grit out in a mocking tone, "So your goal is world peace?"

He shrugged, "Essentially, yes." Sakura stared at him in disbelief. He was going to get rid of everything bad in the world, and then there would only be rainbows and sunshine and happiness? Really? Seriously? While he did make some good points about there being a yin for every yang, he must be either messing with her head when he said he would defy reality and tear the opposing concepts apart, or senile. Sakura decided on the latter. She opened her mouth to tell him that when her body gave out on her, the strain becoming overwhelming, and she collapsed on the floor.

Madara looked surprised but of course being the perfect gentleman he was, made no move to catch her as she fell. Before darkness overtook her, she flipped him off.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura is upset about the loophole's side effect. Madara is annoyed that she has to go to work.


	10. Routine

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Musical cake, argent-snow, The Imperfect Me, Gal Can't Help It, Isolationism, and luchi. Glad you all liked the last chapter. Indeed, while using a Sakura clone, Madara has no access to his own chakra and has to use hers. He is well aware he can't go out in public without fucking himself over, but I do have an idea for having some fun with that later. Also lmfao that new episode where the kid was scared of Madara's face, I'm going to have to reference that at some point bahaha.

This chapter isn't as long as the previous two, and is kind of a filler one, but it's necessary to establish some base facts and things in general. Getting closer to where I can start developing their relationship and advancing the plot, and throwing them into humorous situations. I think I can also start getting chapters out more than once a week now/soon, so yay for that.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Routine-**

Sakura woke up feeling like she had been run over. She took a moment to gather her bearings and realized she was lying in an uncomfortable heap on her bed. Morning light was streaming in through her window. With a groan, she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes, slowly beginning to recall the events that had led her to passing out.

'**Finally**,' Madara's annoyed voice snapped her to awareness, '**You take an unacceptably long time to recover.**'

'_What happened?_' she demanded, already focusing her chakra internally to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her body. Everything checked out, she was okay. But that didn't explain why she had collapsed. '_What did you do to me?_'

A sigh echoed inside her mind, and a still frustrated Madara replied, '**It seems that forcibly separating my soul from your body, even temporarily, puts a strain on you. The longer I remain in your clone, the stronger it becomes.**'

Now quite alarmed and worried about possible damage to her own soul and chakra and who knows what else was at risk, Sakura replied, '_We're not doing that again. No fucking way._'

Ignoring her, Madara continued, '**The length of time we can remain apart can probably be increased with practice.**'

'_That's nice_,' she grit out, '_But we're not going to do that again._' Not only was she upset and slightly freaked out about having collapsed due to some soul shit, she still wanted to keep an extremely close eye on Madara. She was determined to be his jailer, and having him outside his cage, despite it not being much of a cage at all, was not something she desired.

'**Yes we are**,' he replied, and she could almost feel the glare, '**While I may be stuck inside such a weak, female body for now, any relief from that is not something I will turn down.**'

She almost snapped at the insult, but caught herself. Sakura could just release the clone jutsu whenever he inevitably forced her to do it, but all that would do is piss him off and waste her chakra and time. No, even though she wasn't happy about it, maybe it was better to just go along with him this time. She could still keep an eye on him, plus there was the benefit of having some actual privacy inside her mind. It wasn't like he could leave her apartment and wander around Konoha. '_Okay, fine_,' Sakura grumbled, her tone dripping with resentment. She was in no way looking forward to going through that pain again.

'**Giving in so easily?**' Madara taunted, but she forced herself to not take the bait and kept quiet, '**Good. Let's begin.**' She was mentally preparing herself to endure the process of the split again when it struck her, she had work today. Fuck. She glanced at the clock and saw she only had twenty minutes before she had to be at the hospital. No time for a shower or a change of clothes, damn.

'_Wait. I have to do my shift_,' Sakura informed him, standing up and briefly checking herself over to ensure she was somewhat presentable.

'**Skip it**,' Madara commanded, pushing her aside in their shared mind and taking control of her body, stopping her from leaving to go to work.

Annoyed, Sakura protested, '_I need money. You know, for food and rent, so I can live. You've been sort of dead for a while so you might have forgotten that._'

She felt her face twist into a slight frown, a reflection of Madara's reaction. She said nothing while he mulled it over. Sakura knew she had the upper hand. It would cause suspicion if she started not showing up for work. The seconds were ticking by, eating into the time left she had before she would be late. Finally he said, '**Fine, but as soon as you're done, we're coming right back here to practice.**' With that, he gave her control again.

Sakura hurried out the door, immediately heading towards the hospital. She fed chakra into her feet to increase her speed. She could still make it on time. As she was making her way through Konoha, a stray thought hit her, and she almost facepalmed that she hadn't realized it sooner.

'_Did you move me from the floor to my bed?_' She asked, very slightly amused at the mental image of it, given her experiences with Madara so far. She had woken up in a weird position, so he probably had just dumped her there and released the clone jutsu.

'**Hn**,' came the typical Uchiha reply, the kind where they didn't want to give an actual answer. Sakura smirked to herself and didn't press the topic. It was a funny thought, but she still really did not like him and it didn't do anything to improve her opinion of him. She knew he didn't carry her to her bed out of kindness. They shared a body. He probably didn't want to deal with a sore neck from lying on the floor either.

As she expected, she had to deal with annoying quips from Madara the entire time while she was working. Why bother healing this person? They were weak. That person only had a minor cut, back in his time that sort of wound was nothing. Stop wasting her chakra. How did that guy even become a shinobi? So pathetic. On and on it went. Sakura was a bit worried that she might have scared some patients with the look on her face as her irritation with the Uchiha grew. The second her shift was over, with the threat of forcibly taking control again, Madara ordered her back to her apartment.

The pain was maybe slightly less the second time he took advantage of the loophole and possessed her clone, but it still hurt enough to bring her to her knees. Madara was right though, the length of time she could bear with it was longer than before, ten minutes more before she couldn't take it anymore. He released the clone jutsu when she reached her breaking point, thankfully. Sakura dragged herself to her bed and passed out almost immediately afterwards.

The next couple of weeks passed like that. Work in the morning if she had a shift, then back home to practice the loophole. Two practices a day if she didn't have work. It was amazing how quickly she progressed. She now didn't feel the strain for a good five hours and the pain from the split itself was considerably less. While Madara was using her clone, they were both content with ignoring each other for the most part outside of petty insults. Sakura never left her apartment during this time, adamant about keeping an eye on him. He had made her pick up newspapers, historical books, and a few fictional war novels for him, which kept him occupied. She had bitched about him spending her money, but it happened regardless. They soon settled into a weird sort of routine.

She was baffled and suspicious that he hadn't made any sort of move to indicate he was plotting anything or making preparations to escape her body for good. Sakura had attempted a few times to question him about that, and also tried to bring up the whole world peace yin-yang thing again, but he brushed her off and refused to talk more about it, so she dropped it for now. She would bring it up again later and get the answers she was determined to have. Madara did appear annoyed at her obsessive watch over him at times, throwing glares her way now and then, especially if she happened to be behind him. She of course took note of that and purposefully stood behind him sometimes, never too close, but it still aggravated him, much to her entertainment.

Sakura had intended to avoid her friends for now, given her situation, but it was becoming apparent that she couldn't do it for much longer. Naruto and Ino had ambushed her a few times on the way home from work. She had given bullshit excuses to get out of lunch and dinner dates and she wasn't sure how much longer they'd buy it. She did want a social life again, even if it was a selfish desire. The only time she was outside of her apartment these days was when she went to the hospital. She did not want Madara anywhere near her friends, though, especially Naruto. The only time she could hang out with them is when he was using her clone for a body, but then that left him alone in her apartment. She could leave another clone to watch him, but it wouldn't be much of a guard.

Sakura was somewhat at a loss of what to do about the situation when, much to her surprise and displeasure, Madara came up with his own solution.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura gets a social life again. Madara ensures her silence about his existence.


	11. Silence

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Of Healing Love, GoldenPiggy, anon guest, Poppy Grave Dreams, argent-snow, Musical cake, and SuperNaz. Sorry Of Healing Love, I've been writing more than I thought I would be anyways. The past few chapters have been well over 1,000 words, a couple of them even 2k. If I try to write longer chapters, I know I'll burn out or it'll become a chore instead of being fun. I have one unfinished story under a different name for that reason (been over half a year and I just can't bring myself to write the last chapter). I haven't had much time to write this week unfortunately. Real life got in the way. I'm really happy you love the story so much, though!

Sakura doesn't receive memories from the Madara possessed clones. The technique gets corrupted when he transfers his soul. Argent-snow, it's episode 369 if you just want to watch that one. It was a filler scene, not in the manga. Madara has a canon thing about not liking people standing behind him lol.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Silence-**

Madara slammed his book shut with an annoyed sigh, turning to glare at Sakura from where he sat lazily on her couch. "Stop that," he demanded.

She was leaning against the kitchen counter. It had been just about an hour since he had started reading after possessing her clone. A new record. Usually it took longer for him to snap. Raising an eyebrow at his command, she asked, "Stop what, exactly?" Of course, she knew exactly what she was doing, but it was fun to play dumb about it.

"You're always staring at me. Don't you have any manners, brat? It's rude, what you're doing," he complained, crossing his arms in irritation. He was dressed in his usual solid black outfit. He was like a big black stain on her couch. It was a good thing he wasn't in her head at the moment. He wouldn't have liked that last thought.

She smiled innocently, "Just keeping an eye on you, that's all. Wouldn't want you running off and destroying the village, killing my friends, or anything."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again, "Listen, the only reason I'm even telling you this is because you've become more annoying than I ever thought possible, and I want to be able to read without you constantly watching me the whole time." Putting his book aside, he stood up and walked over to her. She straightened defensively, meeting his dark gaze head on. It was pretty damn intimidating to have Madara glaring down at her like that, not that she'd ever admit it to him. He continued, "I have no immediate plans to break the seal and leave your body, yet. The timing is not right."

Sakura blinked, "What do you mean the timing isn't right?" She wasn't sure if she should believe him or not. While it would be fantastic if that was true, if he had no intentions of trying to escape from the seal for now, he could be lying to get her to let her guard down. He knew all about her decision to be his jailer.

He gave her a look that indicated he clearly doubted her intelligence. "It means just that. The current... situation, from what I've been able to gather, is not ideal for my return."

Feeling a possible lead to more information, she tilted her head to the side in curiosity and pressed on, "Current situation?" She already suspected he had an outside agent working on his behalf, but although she had spent countless hours musing about it, she was still no closer to figuring it out. She had a bad feeling it involved the Kyuubi though, and therefore Naruto.

Madara smirked at her attempt to fish for answers and taunted, "I don't think so." When she looked disappointed, he chuckled and said, "Rest assured, though. You'll know when I intend to leave."

"I'm supposed to just take your word for that?" Sakura asked, frowning. No matter what she did, he always saw through her act. It was fucking impossible to fool or trick him.

"Yes," the Uchiha replied, "Have I made any sort of effort or action that would lead you to think that I am working on breaking the seal?"

Sakura's frown deepened, "No." He really hadn't. All he'd done is read books and meditate. It had been driving her crazy, wondering what his game was, but maybe he really was telling the truth and would not try to escape for now. Still, that was no reason for her to relax.

As she was thinking about it, Madara suddenly gripped her jaw and with a harsh press of his fingers, forced her mouth open. Wide-eyed, Sakura immediately struggled and tried to pry him off, but he intercepted and grabbed both of her arms with his free hand. He jammed his thumb into her mouth and then there was an intense burn on her tongue. She bit back a scream and twisted her body. He let her go, removing his hand and wiping his thumb on her clothes before she retreated to a safe distance.

"What the hell?!" she shrieked, glaring at him furiously. She grabbed the nearby kettle and held it up to her face, opening her mouth to inspect her tongue in the reflection. It looked okay... there was no mark she could see. She growled, "What did you do to me?"

Madara smirked, looking extremely pleased with himself, "I simply made it so that you cannot speak about me or anything related to me to anyone else. It's quite a useful little seal. If you try to defy it, you'll choke up and experience some pain."

Sakura raged, "You... you put ANOTHER seal on me?!" She punctuated her complaint by throwing the kettle at him. He leaned to the side and dodged it with ease. It sailed past him to hit the wall, leaving a dent before clattering to the floor. She was furious.

"Was that really necessary?" He drawled in amusement, "You should be glad that it's as invisible as your other seal. Now, get out."

She paused, halfway through reaching for another kitchen appliance to throw at him. She stuttered, "What... excuse me?!"

Madara stalked over to her and grabbed her forcefully by the wrist, ignoring her protests and blocking her wild punches as he dragged her to the door, opening it with a jerk of his hand. "I'm sick of you. We both need time alone, so you will be leaving. Go see your friends," he said, the last word becoming a sneer.

Sakura braced her feet and grabbed the doorway, resisting being pushed outside. "Like hell I'm leaving you alone in my home!" she snarled.

He sighed, aggravated, "You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to wreck the place, I'm not going to leave the apartment, I'm not plotting anything, I'm just going to read in peace and quiet without you around to annoy me." With that, he literally kicked her out and slammed the door in her face. She heard the lock click.

For a few moments, she stood still, staring blankly at the door and rubbing her side soothingly to ease the pain from his blow. Sakura was still really angry, but not enough to cause a scene by banging on her own door, and she really did not want to break it down and have to fix it later.

For the first time in her life, she had been kicked out of her own apartment. She would have laughed at the situation if she wasn't so pissed off at Madara. Sakura formed a seal and two clones popped into existence. She directed them to conceal themselves and keep watch over the door and the windows on the opposite side, just to make sure that bastard did not leave her apartment.

Throwing one last glare in what she thought Madara's general direction was, she turned on her heel and stormed away, figuring she might as well take his suggestion and visit her friends. She really did miss them and could spend a good few hours with them before she had to head back to avoid the strain of being split from the Uchiha for too long.

Sakura was going to punch his smug face when she got back, she promised herself. But for now, she had catching up to do.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura has an odd dream. Madara is hungry.


	12. Dream

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Gal Can't Help It, Of Healing Love, Murithemagnificant, miemae04, Musical cake, and 1ItachiUchiha! Sai's seal is canon, but Sakura isn't aware of it yet. It's revealed in the Danzo Hokage arc. Don't worry, Of Healing Love, Madara and Sakura will get together eventually, and I will be upping the rating to M when it happens. Not sure if I should post all the details here or offsite, though. Really don't want this story reported.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Dream-**

Sakura found herself standing in front of a quiet river in the middle of the forest. The sunlight was warm, and the wind whistled gently through the trees. Her mind felt hazy, as if she was half asleep, but also awake at the same time. Her body felt weird, smaller than she was used to. It was an odd sensation. She tried to remember how she got there, but it didn't seem that important right now. The sound of the stream was soothing, washing away any thought that something didn't feel right. This place was special to her. She felt... nostalgic...?

Her body almost moved by itself, throwing a stone across the water, watching it skip a few times before failing to reach the other side and sinking below the ripples. Sakura frowned, disappointed. She thought that it would have made it across that time. No matter, next time she'd get it. She bent down and grabbed another rock that looked good. Straightening up, she paused, trying to think, but her head still felt cloudy. Had she been doing this for a while?

A stone flew past her without warning, skipping over the water to land on the other side. Annoyed, she looked over her shoulder to see a young boy with a bowl-cut hair. Stupid hair, really. "You need to throw them with a little more passion," he said, "That's the trick behind it."

Sakura glowered at him. "I already know that," she grumbled, "I can reach the other side if I really tried to. Anyway, who the hell are you?" She inspected the kid who had interrupted her rock skipping. His clothes were almost as lame as his hair. She was seriously tempted to tell him that.

"Hmm..." the idiot boy began, "Right now, you could say that I'm your rival in rock skipping, but I've already gotten mine to the other side." He had this annoying cocky grin on his face, one that she really wanted to wipe off. Just because he had gotten his stone to the other side was no reason to be so smug about it!

Still irritated, Sakura barked, "You never answered my question! Who the hell are you?!" Her fist clenched around the rock as she tensed. Was he an enemy or just some kid that had stumbled across her?

The lame boy replied, "You can call me Hashirama. Probably best if I don't give you my surname..." She stared at the boy suspiciously. A refusal to give a surname meant...

Wait...

Hashi... rama?

With a startled gasp, Sakura jerked awake, her arms and legs flailing in a useless struggle with her tangled sheets. She was sweating lightly, breathing hard, her eyes wide. She was in her room. The door was closed and the blinds drawn. She sat up slowly in the dark, taking a few moments to calm down and assess the situation. It quickly came back to her.

She had split from Madara and gone to take a nap, tired from work that day. It was always exhausting when she had a stressful shift at the hospital, and then when she got back home having to go through the strain of the Uchiha leaving her body to possess a clone. Sakura had wanted to leave another clone to watch him while she slept, but he had naturally objected and she had been too tired to argue about it. Even after her short rest, she still felt fairly tired and drained. She blamed Madara for that.

Sakura rubbed her forehead and frowned, musing about the dream. Had it been just a dream? It had seemed so real, but how was that even possible? Some kid calling himself Hashirama... a river she'd never been to... the way she'd moved and talked like she wasn't in full control... the feelings she'd experienced...

Shit, a memory! Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that she had dreamed about Madara's past. Even if it was somewhat of a stretch, Sakura instinctively knew it to be true, and it did make sense, given their connection. More importantly, the dream being a memory felt right to her. She swallowed, suddenly nervous. She could never ever let him find out about this.

It could possibly be a leak or side-effect of the seal he had used on her, the one that kept his soul trapped inside her body. Quickly expanding on the theory, she figured that this dream was either a fluke, or it could be one of many to come. She really hoped it was the latter. It would be great to get insight and more information on Madara's past. Knowledge is power, especially when it came to dealing with the Uchiha.

Shaking her head in frustration, she suppressed a growing sense of panic. He had already been through most of her memories, but she didn't know if he was still checking on what she did when they were apart. There had to be a way to lock the memory of the dream away from him. Sakura bit her lip, thinking hard. How to keep a secret from someone who shared her mind...?

Ino! That was it! The Yamanaka clan specialized in mental jutsu. If anyone could help her, Ino could. Aware that she only had a few hours left before Madara had to leave the clone body, she quickly showered and dressed in a rush, intending to talk to her friend as soon as possible. She paused before opening her bedroom door, steeling her nerves. Don't let Madara think there's anything to worry about, she told herself, just act normal. Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle and stepped out.

Immediately, Sakura caught the Uchiha's attention. "Oi, brat," he called to her from his position on the couch, the place where he had been spending the majority of his time. She stiffened and glared at the Uchiha. He was resting his legs on the full length of her couch, his upper half propped up by a mound of pillows with an open book in his hand. What an annoying, lazy bastard he was.

"What?!" she snapped, angry that he still had yet to address her by her name even once. Really, it wouldn't take much effort to be polite and call her by her name. Gritting her teeth, Sakura stopped her internal bitching before it could get out of control. She couldn't afford to get into an argument with him and waste time. She needed to leave and find Ino as soon as possible.

Madara glanced up from his book after turning a page, "Be a good little girl and go make me something to eat." After giving the order, he waved a dismissive hand and continued to read. Sakura was left standing looking at him, mouth gaping in shock as what he just said registered in her mind. Did he really just...? Oh hell no.

All thoughts of acting normal and not getting into a fight left her. The anger and irritation that had slowly been building up during the past few weeks boiled over into an explosion of rage. From the daily insults to the seal of silence he had forced upon her, she had fucking had enough! She clenched her fists and snarled, face turning red.

"You sexist pig!" she shrieked, storming towards him. Madara's eyes left his book to watch her approach, looking completely unconcerned there was a furious girl coming right at him with a murderous expression. He cocked an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

"How fucking dare you! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I'm going to cook for you! You're such a conceited asshole! You can't just snap your fingers and order me into the kitchen! Cook your own damn food! Oh wait, that's above you, isn't it?! You have no idea how to make anything, do you?! Well you can just starve for all I care!" With that said, Sakura grabbed the end of the couch and flipped it over, sending Madara and the pillows he had been resting on flying into the air. Of course he landed on his feet and of fucking course he caught the couch too, with one hand since he was still holding a book with the other. He smoothly lowered the piece of furniture back into the correct position.

Sakura turned on her heel, grinding her teeth as she stomped away. Seriously fuck Madara. How did he manage to do everything so damn perfectly all the time?! Shaking her head in frustration, she tried in vain to calm down. It was no use though. Hopefully her anger will have ebbed when she found Ino, otherwise her friend might become worried.

As she slammed the front door behind her, she caught a glimpse of Madara with one hand covering his mouth, his dark eyes amused and shoulders slightly shaking with suppressed laughter. The sight only renewed her fury, and after leaving a pair of clones to guard her apartment, she unfortunately scared a few citizens of Konoha with the look on her face during her hunt for Ino.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura undergoes an interrogation from Ino. Madara cooks dinner and is smug about it.


	13. Lies

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: G-man, LChan3706, 1ItachiUchihagurl, Musical cake, Of Healing Love, Awkward Kunoichi, cutehoney4, AMidnightSilhouette, I Am Inner Me, GoldenPiggy, Gal Can't Help It, and angrypixels! You all set a new record for number of reviews for a chapter. Thanks a bunch! Thanks to all the new followers and favorites too. Glad everyone is liking the story so much. I intend to keep delivering the humor and Madasaku goodness.

Madara finds Sakura's rage and anger fits amusing. He gets bored often and provoking her is easy entertainment. Thanks for the tip on ratings and whatnot, Of Healing Love. Gal Can't Help It, no I haven't received fanart for this story, but I'm only posting it on this site, not on tumblr or anywhere else. Plus I haven't even written it to the point where they somewhat like each other.

If you catch any grammar errors in this chapter, do let me know so I can fix it. Thanks!

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Lies-**

Ino folded her arms across her chest and gave Sakura a critical look. "No, Forehead," she said, "I insist that you tell me why exactly you're asking me to perform this jutsu on you." The two girls were sitting across from each other on Ino's bed.

Sakura frowned, her thoughts racing to come up with an excuse. She knew she couldn't tell Ino about Madara, but she needed to give an acceptable reason, something that would placate her friend. The seal he had placed on her tongue prevented her from telling the truth, but... she wondered how far she could push it. "Well..." she began hesitantly, "There's this... boy-" and just like that, she felt a slight shock of pain and her jaw tensed up. Fucking Madara, seriously, he was careful to the point she could accuse him of being paranoid.

Luckily Ino didn't seem to notice it when she winced from the pain, instead looking extremely gleeful and gushed, "Sakura! I knew you'd eventually find someone that would catch your eye! It's about time too. It's been years since-" she stopped short and coughed awkwardly.

"It's okay," she reassured her best friend. Sakura knew that Ino had been about to mention Sasuke. She pushed aside the sadness and regret that always accompanied any mention of her former teammate's name. There were more important matters to worry about right now.

"Well, anyways, what's he like?" Ino asked, recovering from her brief interruption. "Is he cute?" Sakura nearly snorted at the question. She didn't think she could ever classify Madara as cute. The very thought of it was ridiculous. "Do I know him? Is he a shinobi? Does he make you happy? Give a name, come on, details!"

"Sorry, Pig, it's a secret," Sakura replied, ignoring Ino's protesting whine, "That's kind of why I'm asking you to do the jutsu. He's a... civilian and I want to make sure nothing happens to him in case I ever get captured or interrogated. You know full well how many enemies we make in our line of work. And no, you have never met him." She felt bad lying to her friend. There was no alternative though. And then she topped it all with the biggest lie, using all her willpower to keep a straight face, "He does make me really happy."

A frown appeared on Ino's face for a short moment, but then she nodded and smiled, accepting the answer. "Okay, but you're going to have to introduce me to him sometime. Promise me that, and I'll do it for you." Sakura quickly pictured that situation. Sure Ino, I would like to introduce you to the supposedly dead psychopath that lives inside my mind and torments me on a daily basis. Did I mention he's also an Uchiha? She bit her lip to hide an amused grin, despite the actual seriousness of the situation.

Sakura really didn't want to have to accept the deal in fear that Ino would insist she honor it, but she had no choice. "Okay fine. He's busy a lot though so I don't know when I can arrange it," she said.

Ino smirked, "I can be patient, as long as it happens eventually." Sakura did not like that smirk, not at all. She knew Pig had something up her sleeve. Her friend stood up and moved in front of her, reaching up to brush aside her pink hair before pressing her fingers to Sakura's forehead. "Just try to relax," she instructed. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed as she felt her friend's chakra seep into her head. She nearly flinched in guilt when Ino said, "I'm glad he makes you happy."

"Mmm..." Sakura hummed noncommittally, not wanting to continue the conversation. Her friend took the hint and dropped it, focusing on the work she was doing in Sakura's mind. It took only half an hour for Ino to complete the jutsu that would create the equivalent of a mental lockbox where Sakura could hide any memory she wanted. Madara would not be able to see anything she locked away, nor would he be able to sense the existence of the lockbox. Hopefully.

Sakura had no idea if Ino would be able to detect Madara's seal in her mind, but after the jutsu was done, her friend gave no indication that she knew something was wrong. She was both relieved and disappointed. She immediately hid the memory of the dream and after thanking and saying goodbye to Ino, she locked up the memory of what had just transpired too. With any luck, the Uchiha would never know what she had done, especially the fact that she had passed him off as her secret boyfriend. She physically gagged in disgust.

Seeing Ino had been a nice distraction, but as she made her way home and found herself standing in front of her door, the strong irritation Sakura had been feeling earlier quickly reared up again. With an annoyed sigh, she dispelled the clones she had stationed earlier, opened the door and stepped inside. As she locked it behind her, she was confronted by the most delicious smell coming from her kitchen.

Curious, Sakura entered the room and to her immense surprise, found Madara sitting at the table, a large array of sushi sitting on plates in front of him. There was normal rolled sushi, fried Inarizushi, and strips of fish resting neatly on top of a bed of white rice, accompanied by a variety of vegetables. It all looked like it was cooked and set out by a pro. She gawked at the scene.

Of course, Madara immediately noticed her presence, "There you are. I did your job for you. Have a seat." He motioned to the chair across from him. Sakura saw that he had a set a place for her. She grit her teeth, tempted to just say no and tell him to go fuck himself, but she was really hungry...

Screw it. She could place nice, for now. She stiffly walked over to the empty chair and sat down, glaring across the table at the Uchiha. He raised an amused eyebrow. "Did you cook all of this?" she asked, joining him in piling food onto her plate. She already knew the answer. She mentally cataloged the ingredients she would need to replace. Ouch, her paycheck.

"Yes, and if you ask me properly I will consider giving you a lesson," Madara replied in a smug tone. Sakura huffed and picked up a bit of sushi that looked good, making a show of thoroughly inspecting it. Ask him for a cooking lesson? Fat chance. "It's not poisoned or tampered with," the Uchiha said, proving his point by biting into a piece of Inarizushi. She watched him for a moment, then satisfied that he had indeed not messed with the food, took a small bite of her own sushi roll.

It was fantastic, she was forced to admit to herself. Better than anything she had ever made or could make. Madara seemed to know this too, judging by the look of smug self-satisfaction on his face. She glowered and avoided looking at him, focusing on eating her share of the food. It really was good. Pity that she had to eat in terrible company. The Uchiha made a point to comment on cooking techniques he had used, and then of course included a thinly veiled insult about how her past cooking did not measure up and how she was a failure as a woman because of it.

Sakura dutifully ignored him and focused on shoving food into her mouth, silently burning with fury, though it didn't make any difference in stemming the tide of annoying comments. She was somewhat tempted to mock him about how much pride he was taking in being a good cook, something normally considered to be girly, but he'd probably twist it to work in his favor. She also thought about flipping the table on him, though after the couch episode, it probably wouldn't do much good and it would cause a huge mess with the food anyways. She sighed, frustrated with how difficult it was to truly one up the bastard.

After they were finished, Madara of fucking course made her do the clean up. However, she did manage to be petty about it and make a lot of noise, banging pots and plates around while he tried to read, earning quite a few glares and insults. Serves him right for being such an insufferable asshole.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura has another dream. Madara violates her privacy yet again.


	14. Dreams and Nightmares

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Of Healing Love, Gal Can't Help It, GoldenPiggy, Ady, angrypixels, M, 1ItachiUchihagurl, Musical cake, cutehoney4, Stunning Sunset, argent-snow, sungsi, and L! Welcome back, argent-snow, I was wondering where you had gone lol. Also, welcome to the new reviewers. Glad you're liking the story! Madara's a dick this chapter, poor Sakura.

Again, let me know if you see any bad grammar. I might have missed something in this chapter.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Dreams and Nightmares-**

The next time Sakura dreamed about Madara's past, she was aware of what exactly was happening and didn't try to fight it, instead letting the events take their course. There was less of a hazy fog in her mind, thankfully. She was definitely more alert and able to recognize herself. Last time she had truly felt as if she was the Uchiha. Again, she saw everything through the eyes of the younger Madara. It seemed like the dream had skipped ahead a little, as she found herself screaming and pointing accusingly at Hashirama.

"Asshole! You stood behind me on purpose, didn't you?! It's so obvious you're trying to distract me!" she yelled. The young Senju, not that Madara was aware of who he really was yet, Sakura thought with a mental smirk, looked shocked and upset by the verbal abuse.

She continued the rant, "I can't even take a leak if someone is standing near me! That's how aware of my surroundings I am!" So even as a child, he didn't like people standing behind or near him. She would have to revive her 'Stand Behind Madara Until He Gets Annoyed' campaign. She'd been slacking about doing it lately.

With a quick thought about how boys can be seriously gross sometimes, Sakura was able to tell that Madara had tried to skip another stone and failed at it, and was now blaming the other boy.

Hashirama collapsed to the ground with an air of depression thick enough that even Sakura could feel it in her dream state. He muttered, "Forgive me..." Was this how the first Hokage really was in his youth? She had to agree with the young Madara that he was kind of lame...

She felt a wave of guilt... Madara's emotions? Yes, that was what it was. So he wasn't totally heartless, as a kid at least. Though she was more aware of her own self this time, the downside was that there was more of a disconnect between her and Madara, so it was harder to tell exactly what he was thinking and feeling, except when it was a strong emotion apparently. She began a stuttering apology, "... Uhh... relax... no need to get all emotional and stuff... I mean... I kinda have this bad habit of making excuses when I-"

Hashirama interrupted her with a subtle mocking tone, "No need to explain... Your ego is just so big that you have a god complex..." Sakura burst out laughing inside her mind. She totally took back ever thinking that he was lame. Anyone who called Madara out like that was awesome in her book.

Of course the Uchiha didn't share in her mirth, taking insult to the other boy's words, growling in irritation, "Why you... I can't tell if you are hyper sensitive or just a smart-ass..."

Jumping to his feet, Hashirama laughed and taunted her, "Gayahahaha! One thing you should be able to tell is... you are no match for me when it comes to rock skipping!" Sakura wanted to agree but she couldn't control the sequence of events. Feeling smugly happy that Madara had been put in his place, she was content to watch the interaction between the two boys.

The Uchiha was livid, seething in rage. He snarled a threat, "Keep gloating and we'll see how well you skip across this creek!"

The other boy fell to the ground again, wrapping his arms around his legs and lowering his head. The air of depression was back. "Forgive me... I've clearly upset you... To atone for my sin, you have my permission to use me as a rock and throw me across the creek..."

Sakura felt Madara's surprise and guilt again, though there was notably less of it this time. "Jeez... No need to go and cry about it," he grumbled. She wondered if Hashirama was just playing around or if he was actually bipolar.

"I just hope... that I don't drown before reaching the other end..." the other boy muttered from the ground, the tone once again carrying a hint of mockery. With a great deal of amusement, Sakura decided that Hashirama was just a master troll.

Predictably, the young Madara exploded, the annoyance and anger reaching a critical point, "Man you're pissing me off!" he yelled, "Leave. Now."

Hashirama got up to obey the raging boy and go, mumbling, "If you say so..." Aw, so much for her entertainment. This dream had been turning out to be fantastic so far.

To Sakura's surprise, Madara grabbed the retreating boy's shirt and stopped him. "Hold on!" he commanded. Maybe the Uchiha was the one who was bipolar, she mused.

Hashirama turned around to look over his shoulder at her, "You want me to leave or not? Stop being so indecisive..." he complained. Before Madara could answer her, both of them noticed a body floating down the river. The shock of it was enough to wake Sakura up, much to her disappointment.

Immediately she shoved the memory of the dream inside her mental lockbox before Madara became aware of it. He hadn't noticed it after rejoining her inside her mind last night and she was eternally thankful for that. Given his nature as a control-freak, she knew he would have confronted her if he had found out. She took a few seconds to become aware of her surroundings and was surprised to find her body under Madara's control, cleaning up dishes. What was going on?

'**Finally you're up**,' the Uchiha commented nonchalantly in her head, '**I tried waking you earlier but you were out cold. Must have been quite a dream, hm?**' She didn't reply just yet, taking note of the status of her body. The first and most important thing she noticed was that she was dressed, and clean. She was clean... had he... had he seriously...

'_Did you... did you shower in my body?_' she asked in an anxious tone, her nerves frayed, on the verge of mentally hyperventilating. Waking up from a good dream to this nightmare of a reality...

'**Hn**,' was the only reply from Madara, confirming her fear. '**To be fair, I did try to wake you up. I left it as long as possible, but it got to the point that you would be late for work. So I took care of your morning routine. I even cooked and ate breakfast for you**.' The Uchiha paused, noting her shock and growing rage. He sighed, '**Really, you should be thanking me**.'

Sakura snapped, '_Thanking you?!_' she shrieked, '_You PROMISED me that you wouldn't do shit like that! You... you showered in MY body! Oh my god-_'

Madara cut her off, '**Relax. It's nothing I haven't seen before. More importantly, I think we're at the level where we can spend the entire day apart**.' He formed the clone seal and with a slight jab of pain, split off from her, possessing the clone and transforming it into his likeness.

She recovered quickly from the process, then continued her rant, "So fucking what?! I don't give a crap about who else you've seen naked, that's not the fucking point! You once again violated my privacy and for what?! So I wouldn't be late?! Why would you even fucking care-"

The Uchiha ended her tirade by slamming her into the wall and forcibly covered her mouth with a hand, using his other to grab her wrists. He blocked her legs with a knee, pinning her without a chance for her to struggle. She growled into his hand and tried in vain to bite him. He responded by pressing down harder, enough that she was in pain. Sakura glared at him, absolutely furious. He was close enough that his hair tickled her face.

"Enough," Madara commanded with a slightly annoyed tone, "Don't blame me for your inability to wake up. I will not have you doing anything, even something minor like being late to work, to tip off any of your friends that something is wrong."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, still mad as fuck. The Uchiha ignored her and continued, "Do not expect an apology for what I did, either." Sakura intensified her glare, channeling all her hate for him. This bastard had seen her naked. The mere thought of it burned her. Madara noticed her silent rage and a taunting smirk spread across his face, "Not that there was much to look at anyways."

Sakura's eyes widened at his words and she shrieked, his hand muffling the sound. She twisted her body, fighting against him, wanting to beat the crap out of him until there was nothing left but a bloody smear on the floor. His laugh only spurred her on. Madara humored her for a moment before pressing down harder to control her struggles. "If you want to prevent this from happening again, make sure you wake up on time. Now, either you calm down and go to your job, or I'll tie you up and go as you," he threatened, "Your choice, brat."

She fell still, seething in anger about the injustice of all of this, but mentally aware enough to realize that she did not want him to make good on his threat. Madara going to work as her? It was worse than seeing her naked. At least she was the only one hurt by that, but if he impersonated her, there's no telling how much he'd screw over her social life or even harm her friends.

Sakura closed her eyes to avoid looking into the bastard Uchiha's mocking gaze, taking time to forcibly calm herself down. After a good few long moments, Madara said, "If you don't leave now, you will be late. What will it be? Are you going to behave?"

Much calmer, but still upset, she opened her eyes and nodded slightly. He looked intently at her, searching for any deceit, and upon finding none, released her. She had to use all her willpower to restrain herself from throwing a chakra-enhanced punch. Instead, she grit her teeth and spun on her heel to storm out the door. "Ah, before you leave," Madara called to her, "Be a good girl and pick up the new book in the 'Nations at War' series."

Sakura clenched her fists, incensed at the demand, turning to first flip him off, then spit in his direction, and finally punctuated her response by growling, "Go fuck yourself." With that, she slammed the door and created her clone guards. Now that he was out of sight, she risked being late to work to bury her face in her hands for a minute, fighting back tears. Madara always got the upper hand and humiliated her, over and over. Would she ever get a break?

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura takes out her anger in the training grounds. Madara gets his book.


	15. A Step Forward

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: cutehoney4, angrypixels, Gal Can't Help It, RaspberryCaramel, Of Healing Love, 1ItachiUchihagurl, la canelle, Musical cake, daliapvperez, argent-snow, jiggy, and anon guest! Don't worry Of Healing Love, Sakura will start to gain some ground on Madara very soon! And thanks for pointing out the spelling error, I try to catch all of them sometimes I miss one or two. Argent-snow, your prediction is correct, hehe.

I think Madara redeems himself just a tiny bit this chapter. Sorry this update is a day later than usual. Had stuff to do on Saturday and was kinda sick on Sunday, plus this was a bit hard to write since it's an important chapter. Enjoy!

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-A Step Forward-**

Another large chunk of ground went flying through the air before landing a good fifteen or so feet away with a loud thud. Sakura bent over to catch her breath. She was tired and sweaty and it was a hot day, but imaging each rock or bit of earth she punched to be Madara's face really helped her release some of the frustration and fury she held. She had come directly to the training grounds after her shift at the hospital ended to take advantage of the remaining time she had free from that bastard before she had to go back home. It killed her to know he had seen her naked.

With an angry growl, Sakura slammed her foot down, rupturing the ground and flooding the air with another burst of dust and scattered grass. She wiped the sweat and dirt from her forehead as the debris settled. A moment later, she focused chakra into her fists again, ready for another go, when a slow clapping interrupted her. Sakura tensed, battle-ready, and spun around to locate the source of the noise. She blinked in surprise when she caught sight of a young black-haired boy sitting under a tree watching her from the shade. It took a few seconds for it to sink in, but when she realized who it was, her mouth dropped open in a horrified silent scream and she pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You!" she shrieked. If she hadn't been having those dreams, she probably would not have recognized him at all. His hair might be way shorter and his body younger, but he still had that smug look permanently glued onto his face.

"Don't mind me," Madara drawled, his voice not as deep as it usually was given his current henge transformation, "Carry on with your landscaping." Sakura was too busy screaming internally to come up with a reply. All the what-ifs and questions running through her head terrified her. What if he had hurt her friends? What if he had been plotting against the village? How the fuck did he get past her clones? Oh god, what if this wasn't the first time?!

She stormed over to him, her teeth bared in a snarl. "How did you get out without my clones seeing you?" she demanded, glaring down at him with the full force of her fury.

He looked up at her, amused, "Really, what kind of shinobi do you take me for? It's a simple matter to sneak past two clones, especially when they're yours." He picked up a book, which Sakura had not noticed until now, and placed it on his lap, "Besides, I told you to get this for me. Since you refused, I went out and got it myself."

She stared at the novel, recalling that he had annoyingly asked her to get it for him after roughing her up and threatening her. She scowled, "I thought you had no intention of leaving my apartment because you wanted to keep a low profile."

He rolled his eyes, a childish gesture fitting his appearance, "That was my original intention, but I got bored." He rested his head on one hand, still smirking at her, "This isn't the first time I've been out in the village, you know."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Fuck. That was what she feared. She sat down slowly a few feet away from him. She sighed, burying her face in her hands, feeling a wave of defeat, her anger reduced to a mild simmer. "I assume every time you went out, you looked like that?" She already knew the answer. He wouldn't be foolish enough to parade around in his original look.

"Of course," Madara replied. At her anguished groan, he leaned over and condescendingly patted her on the head, "Don't worry, brat, I didn't harm your precious village or friends." Wow, thanks asshole, she felt SO much better now, assuming he wasn't lying.

She snarled and swatted his hand away, glaring at him again. Her eyes slid down to the book on his lap. "You owe me so much money for all the shit you buy," she grumbled, and then flopped over onto her back, frowning up at the leaves and the sky. He didn't reply and a few minutes of silence passed by.

She lost herself in mulling over how hard she been trying to control and keep an eye on the Uchiha, but ultimately it didn't matter what she did. The fact that he had left the apartment without her clones knowing multiple times was a slap in the face to all the effort she put into it. Maybe she was going about this the wrong way? Trying to brute force her will and meet him head on was clearly not working. Neither was trying to trick him. She needed a new approach, but she had no clue what to do. It was really very frustrating.

Sakura looked over and found Madara engrossed in his book, content to ignore her. Annoyed about being dismissed so easily, even though it really shouldn't bother her, she scowled at him until he looked over at her and raised at eyebrow. "I hate you," she informed him.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "I know," he replied, before turning back to his book. Sakura wasn't done just yet, though. She sat up and flicked a small stone at him. To her surprise, he didn't move to dodge it and it landed in his hair. Madara slammed his book shut and gave her his full attention, a slight look of annoyance on his face now. "Is there something else you want?" he asked, brushing the rock off.

"Yeah," she replied, "I want an apology for invading my privacy and showering in my body when you had no right to."

Madara sighed, "You're not going to get one ever so don't ask me again." Sakura narrowed her eyes and channeled her righteous fury through her glare. The Uchiha met her gaze straight on with a stubborn determination. A silent battle of the wills took place over the next couple of minutes. To an outsider, it would have been a hilarious sight. A young teenage pink-haired girl glaring bloody murder at a younger spiky-haired boy who had a frown slowly growing darker and more threatening as the seconds ticked by.

Sakura was the one who finally relented, remembering how meeting Madara head on never worked out. Even though it seriously bothered her to submit, she huffed and turned her back to him, crossing her arms and pouting. The Uchiha snorted and taunted her, "Giving up so easily?" When she didn't reply, he continued, his tone mocking, "Why don't you just stop trying at all? You have no chance against me. It was audacious of you to even think you could be my jailer, as you so impudently put it. Really, you are just an annoying, weak child. No matter what you do, I'll always be two steps ahead of you."

Taking a deep breath and mentally applauding herself for not snapping at him during his little speech, even though she was burning to give in and yell at him, Sakura turned around slowly to face Madara. He had that same smug smirk on his face that he always wore whenever he released a tirade of insults against her. Even though he had taken on a younger form, his facial expressions and manners were the same as his older self. Normally, she would respond with rage and screaming and he probably expected that, but this time, she would act differently.

Sakura's arm shot out and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards her, close enough that their hair brushed against each other's foreheads. She took delight in the surprised look on his face. He had grabbed her arm, but did not retaliate more than that, thankfully. "I will never, ever give up," she bit out, her eyes wide, determination surging throughout her body. Madara was wrong about her, and she would prove it. "No matter how many times you knock me down, no matter how many times you outwit me, I will never ever give up. That... that is my ninja way."

She held him there until the shock faded from his face. After Sakura let him go, he leaned back and looked at her critically, his head tilted to the side as he considered her. It was somewhat intimating being stared at like that, even though he was posing as his younger self, but she did not turn away, allowing the strength of her will to reflect in her eyes, her face, her body language. She knew instinctively that this moment was important. There was no option for failure.

Finally, a smirk spread across his face, though it wasn't the normal condescending one that he usually sported. It was different somehow, but Sakura couldn't put it into words. "Hn," was all he said. Typical Uchiha.

She sighed and stood up, looking away to gaze over the ruined training grounds. She felt something indefinable had shifted. The moment was over now, though, and it would be unwise to pursue it. On a whim, she asked, "Want to spar?" Hitting his actual face instead of imaging his face on rocks would be an improvement.

Madara humphed, folding his arms across his chest, "You're hardly on my level. It wouldn't be much of a fight." He made a show of opening his book again and continuing to read.

Sakura frowned, but paused before returning an insult, opting to go in a different direction. "Mm, you're right," she replied, "I would feel bad beating up a child." She smiled down at him, a subtle taunt.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed and he put his book aside. He met her gaze for a moment and she did not look away, challenging him silently. Madara's lips slowly curled into an amused smirk. He got up and walked past her to stand in the middle of the area in between two large craters. Once there, he turned to her and motioned with one hand to attack him, "Come at me, Sakura."

She put up a good fight, but in the end he won of course. She didn't feel upset over the loss, even if he was fighting in his younger form still. Sakura got a few good hits in, plus covered him in dirt once when she broke the ground from under him. It was only after they had returned to her apartment that she realized it had been the first time Madara had actually used her name.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura tests a theory on how to get Madara to do what she wants. Madara has a brief moment of weakness.


	16. A Simple Request

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: 1ItachiUchihagurl, Of Healing Love, la canelle, sasukekarin0801, jiggy, anon guest, XBakaNinGyoX, and angrypixels! Yes, it only took 15 chapters but Madara finally acknowledged Sakura enough to actually use her name. Amazing, lol. I don't think you'll be disappointed in Madara's moment of weakness. I can't push them too far too fast without breaking character, but I hope you enjoy the bit of fluff in this chapter.

On a side (and sad) note, if anyone has a really good translation of Madara's final words in the manga I'd really love to see it, because Mangapanda and Mangastream have kinda conflicting translations. Very sad to see him go, but I'm happy he wasn't talk-no-jutsu'd. I have a much better ending planned (imo), maybe even better than the actual manga depending on how Kishi handles it.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-A Simple Request-**

"Do you see this?" Sakura asked, an irritated frown on her face. Madara, who was currently lounging on the couch, as usual, looked up from his novel with a bored expression. In her hand she held the reason she was complaining. She waved it in his face, "It's everywhere."

The Uchiha batted her hand away, "Yes, I see it. Why exactly are you bothering me about hair?"

"Your hair," Sakura emphasized, "All of it is yours. Everywhere. All over my home." She flung the strands of hair at him to punctuate her statement. Madara made no move to dodge, just letting it land on him with no complaint, something he might not have done a week ago.

After the spar a few days ago, they had come to a sort of silent semi-truce and had been getting along a little bit better. Madara had let up on a good chunk of the insults, but not all of course, and Sakura had been doing a pretty good job of not blowing up in a rage at him.

He had also been using her name more often instead of just calling her a brat. She did appreciate that, although she was still very concerned that he had been going into the village alone without her there to watch him. She did not trust him beyond what she knew or could confirm herself to be true. But that was a worry to think about later.

"Must you do that?" Madara complained, brushing the hair off with a flick of his hand. Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance as the strands landed on the carpet.

"Look," she began, "You are practically shedding, there's so much hair everywhere. Tie it up, brush it, or cut it, I don't care, just do something."

"Cutting it would be pointless and would only add to the problem. This is a transformation of your clone after all," he countered, speaking as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sakura huffed, admitting to herself that he was right, although he was missing the original point. Even if he cut his hair, it would be long again the next time he did the henge jutsu. Chasing that train of thought, she mused out loud, "When you release the transformation, does the lost hair turn back into mine?" The image of masses of loose pink hair all over her apartment made her cringe.

"Of course," Madara replied, continuing with a mild taunt, "Didn't they teach you the nuances of transformation at the academy? I thought you were the top of your class."

She glared at him but did not rise to the bait, something she had been getting increasingly better at every time. The details of hair had in fact not been covered during the lessons on the technique, so she did reluctantly appreciate the gained knowledge, as minor as it was. Not pursuing the insult, she said, "Anyways, back on topic, do something about your hair."

Madara snorted and looked back down at his novel, "No, I don't care enough to do anything. It's only bothering you, not me."

Sakura scowled at the Uchiha, who ignored her glare and continued reading. She was determined to take care of this hair problem, one way or another. She had been giving a lot of thought on how to deal with Madara ever since the spar and had come up with working theory.

Butting heads with him never worked out in her favor, nor did trying to trick or manipulate him, since he saw right through it, being the paranoid man that he was. Subtly taunting him may work, proven when he took her up on her challenge when she called him a child, mocking the form he had taken. That also ran the risk of pissing him off, though, so it wasn't foolproof.

No method would ever work all the time on someone like him, anyways. It had to be done carefully and only when she really needed him to do something. Sakura had eventually decided that the best way to get Madara Uchiha to do something that he was not inclined to do is to tell him that it can't be done, is impossible, or imply that he isn't capable of it. Based on everything she knew about him and her past interactions with him, it was the most logically sound speculation she had come up with. Now this moment was a perfect opportunity to put her theory to the test.

Sakura briefly left the room to fetch a hair brush, returning to find a slightly amused Madara watching her. "I just told you no, Sakura," he said as she held out the brush to him.

"Then I'll do it for you," she offered, smiling when a surprised expression flashed across his face. She really did relish it when she shocked him. It was never truly easy to do.

"No," he said in a flat voice. She had heard it before and knew what it meant. Pushing him directly about it and demanding he brush his hair would only result in anger, but she wasn't going to tackle it head-on this time.

Sakura rolled her eyes and said in a slightly drawling tone, "I'm sorry, I forgot how much you hated having people behind you. Please forgive me for thinking you could handle having a girl brush your hair for you." Madara's eyes immediately narrowed and he glared at her. She continued, "Well, if it's too much to just ask you to sit there and let me take care of the problem so I can quit nagging you, then okay."

As she turned to leave, Madara stopped her, "Fine. Just get it over with so you can stop whining about it." She forced a victorious smirk off her face before turning back to him and motioning for him to sit sideways on the couch. Still glaring at her, he complied and she slid in behind him.

Sakura had to admit, she hadn't been sure if it would work or not. She thought she had been a bit too obvious in her methods, but it was the first time trying this and she was just glad it had actually worked. Hopefully he didn't think too much about it. She would definitely not enact this theory too often, only for critical things to maximize potential for success. It was nice knowing she could pull his strings, though. She locked these thoughts away in her mental vault and lifted up the brush.

Madara's hair was surprisingly soft for such a spiky mess, she thought as she ran the brush through it, picking up the many loose strands. He had started reading again and was actively ignoring her while she worked. Sakura was careful to not tug too hard on the knots, and hesitantly used her free hand to untangle a difficult one. When he didn't complain, she indulged herself and ran her hand through his hair a few times. Seriously, it was a crime for man to have hair this nice.

She fell into a rhythm and lost herself in her thoughts and the peace of the moment. Brushing the black hair of the Uchiha was rather calming in an odd sort of way. She wondered why he grew it out so much in the first place. Maybe she'd have a dream eventually that would tell her. Now that she could see it up close, at the right angle of light, some strands took on a slight dark blue sheen, similar to another Uchiha who would not be named and this thought will not continue. Back on track, she was curious if the subtle colors in Madara's hair would look the same in the sunlight? She only had her apartment lights to go by right now. It was dark outside, but maybe the moon would be out soon.

She glanced out the window to check when she caught sight of Madara's reflection in the glass. Sakura realized then that she hadn't heard him turn the pages of his book for a while, and now she knew why. He had his eyes closed and a relaxed expression on his face, a stark contrast to the smirks and the scowls and bored looks he normally wore. Really, why couldn't he look like this more often? He was much less intimidating and annoying when he looked so peaceful, he was actually kind of...

Sakura blinked and shook her head, refusing to complete that thought. Nope. Nope nope nope. Not going there. Madara jerked into alertness the second she stopped brushing his hair. She scooted back away from him as he turned around and stared at her with an unreadable look. "Done?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking away because she wanted to, not because she felt a blush threatening to appear or anything. And that would be from embarrassment and nothing else. Because it was an awkward situation. Really. Sakura promptly left the room and cleaned the mass amount of black strands from her hairbrush, and thought about how she definitely did not enjoy feeling how silky they were. Not at all.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura's dreams progress into daytime visions. Madara is sneaky. Ino makes an unwelcome appearance and forms assumptions.


	17. A Vision of the Past

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: angrypixels, Of Healing Love, la canelle, anon guest, 1ItachiUchihagurl, Firerosemon, Gal Can't Help It, Sunbattle, AMidnightSilhouette, and XBakaNinGyoX. Glad everyone liked the last chapter. There's not going to be one singular event that has one fall for the other, it's going to be a slow buildup. I'll be feeling out when exactly they realize their feelings over the course of the story. I still have the general plot line, but I have two (I think) possible points in mind where they'll first confess and/or kiss, and it's not going to be for a while (much relationship building to do). So sorry, anon guest, although it would be funny, I'm sticking fairly close to canon until the war happens.

And yes, Madara likes having his hair brushed, not that he would ever admit it, haha. Let me know if you see any grammar errors in this chapter so I can correct. Thanks!

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-A Vision of the Past-**

After the hair brushing incident, as Sakura liked to call it, she had stopped complaining about Madara's shedding and just grit her teeth, cleaned up any stray hairs she found, and ignored it. She absolutely refused to think about how-

"Gah!" Sakura shrieked and buried her face into her hands, earning several odd looks from villagers passing by while she had a mini-freak out in the middle of the street. Stop it, no no no, she chanted internally. She had to think about something else. Work? She'd just finished her shift. Shuriken wounds from training accidents. Bloody, open cuts. Whining Genins who had too much confidence and bad aim. There, good. At least this time she hadn't ended up mentally reciting medical theories or procedures to distract herself.

She took a few deep breathes to calm down and resumed walking home. Sakura felt a bit anxious about working two hours overtime. She had stopped leaving clone guards to watch her apartment since Madara could easily leave without being seen anyways. As much as she loved the medical work and helping people, every second she was out was another second she had no idea what he was doing. She still did not trust him despite their somewhat improved interactions.

She almost dreaded when her Shishou's schedule cleared up and she was free enough to start training sessions again. She would be too much of a nervous wreck to make any progress. Or worse, Madara would be there inside her head making distracting and annoying comments. But as it stood now, her teacher was too busy with Hokage work to spare any time for her.

Sakura sighed deeply and picked up the pace a bit to get home faster, only to see a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She would have dismissed it, but it set alarm bells off in her head. She turned to look and stiffened in shock. She saw a faded image of the first Hokage, dressed in casual white clothes, walking down the street. What the actual fuck? She could see right through him. Was this a ghost..?

She stared for a moment, following his movements as he looked to the side and smiled at nothing. Then he reached out and pat the air, and a small white flower appeared in his other hand. She was seriously confused until ahead of them, a faded image of Madara stepped from around the corner. Then it clicked. Another memory. The first Hokage must have been greeting a villager, but for whatever reason, she wasn't seeing him or her.

Sakura was briefly concerned that her dreams of Madara's memories had now progressed into ghost visions, but she would not pass up the chance to get another glimpse of information about the man she was stuck with. There would be time to worry about the implications of why she was now seeing things later. She followed the two after they greeted each other, trailing after them through several streets. The faded pair passed right through a couple of actual living citizens, an odd sight for sure, but it confirmed that she was the only one who could see them.

It was interesting seeing Madara look actually happy and relaxed. Aware that thinking more about that would lead to an unwanted train of thoughts again, Sakura increased her pace to walk next to the two, watching them talk about something. She tried to read their lips, but she couldn't make out anything other than 'clans', 'dream', and 'village'. She did not once see the word 'Konoha', so this vision might be from before the village had been named?

After a few minutes of this, the ghost of a child appeared in front of them and tripped. To her surprise, the Uchiha rushed forward to help the little girl up. Sakura blinked, then smirked in amusement and quickly moved closer to get a better view. This was a side of Madara she hadn't seen before. She burst out laughing, again earning odd stares from villagers around her, as the girl saw the Uchiha's face and flung herself backwards, clearly terrified. Sakura clamped a hand over her mouth to control her laughter, not wanting to develop a public image of being some crazy chick.

The first Hokage's ghost walked over to calm the girl down by offering the flower he held. The child thanked both of them and ran off, disappearing after a few steps. The other two visions slowly faded after standing up and smiling at each other. Sakura waited a moment to see if that was it, but when nothing more happened, she leaped up onto a nearby roof and used chakra-enhanced jumps to speed home. While it had definitely been an interesting and amusing memory, she had lost a bit of time and needed to make it up. She didn't want to leave Madara alone longer than she had to, especially when there were small children living in the village who he could scare with his face.

Sakura started laughing again mid-leap and was forced to stop when she landed on the next roof. She clutched her sides and tried to calm down, but the image of that poor little girl with tears in her eyes from seeing the Uchiha's face kept popping up in her mind. It was too good! She definitely sympathized with the child. Madara could terrify anyone with just a look. Sakura finally managed to control her giggling and continued on, in a better mood than before. It was nice having some humor in her life, a welcome break from the amount of stress she'd been put through ever since she had stumbled upon that blasted cave.

It took just under ten minutes to reach her apartment. A quick probe with her chakra revealed that Madara wasn't inside. She frowned, now quite concerned, and closed her eyes to focus. She expanded her senses outward, trying to locate the missing Uchiha. Nothing. Sakura dug down into her mind, attempting to pull at the seal and see if she could use it to find him. Unfortunately, all she ended up with was failure and another five minutes wasted.

Sakura really did not want to piss him off and ruin their improving relationship, but she decided to risk it. She held her fingers up the sign to release the kage bunshin jutsu. "Kai," she whispered, fully expecting to have Madara's mind merge back into her body. Nothing happened. NOTHING. She bit back a scream and swore colorfully inside her head, calling the Uchiha every dirty word and phrase she knew. Of fucking course he found a way to block her from cancelling the clone he had possessed. She shouldn't even be surprised at this point.

She fought back the increasing worry and anxiety and pumped more chakra to her feet, taking off across the rooftops once again, her senses on high alert for any sign of Madara. Sakura spent an hour searching, growing more and more frustrated and cursing herself for not putting clone guards in place. At least then, they might have caught him leaving and followed him. Damn it all!

She checked his favorite bookstores, the library, and even passed by the jail, but picked up no trace of him. On the off chance that he had gone to his clan's compound, she decided to check there too. Sakura was just about ready to tear her hair out as she raced through the abandoned Uchiha complex when she heard a familiar voice talking. She focused on it, desperate to make out the words as she got closer to the source. "Remember, not a word to him about this," a teenage voice said. So he had wisely transformed into his younger self again... but who the fuck was he speaking to?

Sakura tore around a corner to find Madara giving her a surprised look. No one else was around, though. As he opened his mouth to say something, she interrupted with a demand, "Who were you talking to just now?"

His lips quirked up in an amused smirk. He motioned to a patch of grass beside him and replied, "The flowers." Sakura glared at him, in no mood for jokes after the hour of frustration and worry. All of her good humor from seeing the vision had vanished.

She stalked over to him, put her hands on her hips, and growled in the most threatening way she could, "I'm serious." While there were indeed several flowers growing in the grass he had pointed out, she did not believe him for even a second. She knew he was hiding something and she would find out exactly who he had been talking with.

Madara was about to reply when once again he was interrupted, but this time not by her. A shock of dread settled in her stomach as her best friend sauntered up behind them, "I thought I saw you, Forehead. Are you meeting up with your secret boyfriend?" Sakura knew she was completely fucked and no matter what happened in this meeting, the Uchiha was never going to let her live it down.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura is horrified and embarrassed. Madara is highly amused. Ino is oblivious. The author apologies for ending on a cliffhanger.


	18. Sakura's Worst Day Ever

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Of Healing Love, anon guest, la canelle, sasukekarin0801, Gal Can't Help It, 1ItachiUchihagurl, acetwolf94, and Perko. Of Healing Love, you're right, he was talking to Zetsu. Nice that you picked up on that hint. Sakura won't find out until much later though. Gal Can't Help It, Sakura's locking away anything she doesn't want Madara to see. I'm not always going to mention it though, cause it gets repetitive.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Sakura's Worst Day Ever-**

It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion after Ino made the 'secret boyfriend' comment. She watched with growing horror as a surprised Madara peered briefly around her to catch sight of her best friend, before looking back at her.

His expression flickered from shocked, to understanding, then to what Sakura figured was distaste or mild revulsion, which would have been insulting if she wasn't too busy wishing she could disappear into the ground right now, or die. Dying would be okay too. The worst was when a wicked and conniving grin spread across the Uchiha's face. She could practically see the scheming wheels turning in his mind.

"Kind of a depressing place to meet up though, huh?" Ino asked, completely oblivious to the intense dismay Sakura was feeling and the evil look on Madara's face. The blonde walked up beside her and blinked when she saw the supposed secret boyfriend. "He's kind of young, isn't he?" She mused, then jabbed Sakura playfully in the ribs and rambled on, "Robbing the cradle, Forehead? He's still pretty cute though! He's a civilian, right? I think that's what you said."

Sakura buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were heating up. "He's not my boyfriend," she grumbled through her fingers. This was so, so bad. She had never wanted him to find out about this. She was thankful, however, that the seal on her tongue wasn't burning at all. Maybe since the Uchiha was present, it wasn't activating. Last time she had tried to talk about him to her friend, it had shocked with with a bit of pain.

"Don't lie, Sa-ku-ra," Madara said, drawing her name out in a teasing and mocking manner, "There's no need to be embarrassed about the minor age difference. Especially considering I've already seen you naked."

Oh. My. God. He did not just say that, fucking hell. Sakura swore under her breath, cursing the bastard Uchiha to burn in hellfire for all eternity. Ino, predictably, freaked out, "Sakura! You two have... you've _done it_ with him?!"

Sakura, in an effort to regain control of the quickly escalating situation before it turned into a complete disaster, straightened up and shook her head in denial, "No, Pig, stop jumping to conclusions." It was unfortunate that her blush hadn't died down yet, and she knew Madara would take full advantage of it.

"But he's seen you naked, right?" Her friend pressed, looking curiously between the two, a miserable Sakura and a smirking black-haired boy. Ino had no idea that the teen who appeared only a few years younger than her friend had actually lived many decades, nevermind the whole sharing a body and having died once before thing.

Before Sakura could answer, Madara replied, "Yes, it's true." She glared daggers at him while Ino gasped, though judging by the grin on her face, she was enjoying every moment of this. Her blonde friend had always liked learning juicy secrets, the more she wasn't supposed to know, the better. The Uchiha shot Sakura an amused smirk, his black eyes still holding a calculating sheen.

She suppressed a snarl and clenched her fist. Lying would only make it worse now. "Okay, fine," she admitted, "But we haven't actually done anything, Inopig." There. Hopefully her annoying friend would be satisfied with that.

Ino giggled in glee and pranced over to Madara. Sakura tensed slightly, a bit worried for her safety, but the Uchiha did nothing. He was remarkably tolerant as the blonde fussed over him, firing off question after question. "So what's your name? How old are you? Where do you live? When did you meet Sakura? How did you end up seeing her naked? Have you two kissed yet?"

Sakura's mouth fell open once again in horror, and before Madara could take advantage of the opportunity and fill her gossiping friend with lies, she marched over and pushed them apart, keeping the Uchiha close to her with a hand on his shoulder. She squeezed lightly, a warning to him to keep his mouth shut. No doubt he would ignore it though, being the asshole he was. Ino regarded the two with a cheshire cat grin on her face. "Possessive much, Sakura?" she teased.

Feeling a nervous tic coming on, Sakura grit her teeth and breathed deeply to try to calm down. To her surprise, Madara actually leaned into her, pressing against her side, his head resting on her shoulder. He was a bit shorter than she was in his current form, so he fit perfectly. He had the gall to drape an arm around her waist to prevent her from bolting. Sakura stiffened, screaming inside her mind, hyper aware of how warm he was and the dark hair brushing her cheek.

She glanced down at him, her wide eyes meeting a highly amused gaze. That bastard! He was fucking with her just to make it worse! Maybe this was his form of revenge for the secret boyfriend comment, maybe it was solely for his entertainment, or maybe he was just being a dick for the hell of it. Or maybe all three. Whatever the reason, despite his expression of distaste a moment ago, he was playing along with the act.

"Oh my god, you two are just so cute together," Ino cooed, still oblivious to how her friend was truly feeling. Sakura was torn between being horrified at this current moment and mentally freaking out that the blonde would spread this secret through her gossip circles.

"She always goes to great lengths to keep an eye on me," Madara said. "Perhaps she's a bit overprotective, but I don't mind." He sighed, playing up the dramatics, "The secret is out now, though." Sakura blinked, quickly processing his choice of words. Did he mean that he was upset or irritated that she had let someone know of his existence, even if she had lied about who exactly he was? It was possible, though he wasn't acting angry at all. If he was mad, he was hiding it extremely well. She might be overthinking it. Maybe this was just his way of punishing her for her slip up. Even so, it didn't make him less of an asshole for doing it. "My name is Tajima," he told Ino, "Sakura has told me to keep my last name to myself. Shinobi rules."

Ino nodded enthusiastically, overjoyed with this new piece of information. "It's really nice to finally meet you, Tajima! You really make her happy," she motioned at Sakura, "Did you know? She told me when she came and saw me a while ago."

"Oh? Is that so?" Madara hummed, looking up at the pink-haired girl, "I am so glad to know that. You should tell me yourself more often, considering I am _supposed_ to be your boyfriend." He had an evil, evil grin on his face. Sakura was still at a loss for words, stiff as a board, wishing that none of this was happening.

"So have you kissed yet?" Ino asked, her eyes alight with the desire to know even more about their relationship.

Hearing her friend's question, Sakura finally snapped out of it. "Okay, that's enough!" she barked, "No more. You met him, now shoo." She pointed in the direction of the Uchiha compound's exit.

"Aww, but Sakura! I still want to know if you two have kissed and how he saw you naked! Come on, tell me!" Ino whined, giving her puppy dog eyes.

"No, and it was an accident," she snarled at the blonde. "You better keep this a secret. I mean it. If you tell anyone else I'll never talk to you again." With that threat, she gathered her courage and picked up Madara, bridal style, leaping away with chakra enhanced speed. Ino was left behind, bent over and clutching her sides, shaking with laughter. Some friend she was, Sakura humphed.

She was so caught up in her anger, frustration, and embarrassment that she didn't even think how she was still carrying Madara until she was in front of her apartment door after traveling the entire way across Konoha's rooftops. When she realized that she was still holding him, she dropped him in shock. He was ready for it, however, and landed on his feet. She was helplessly confused about why he hadn't complained the entire way, but she'd had enough bullshit for today and just wanted to forget about it all instead of driving herself crazy wondering about it. She also really did not want to speak to him for the rest of the day.

He opened his mouth to say something after Sakura shoved him through the door and she jabbed a finger at him, shutting him up with the sudden gesture. "No," she said.

Madara chuckled as she brushed by him. Ignoring her clear desire that she did not want to talk right now, he said, "Well that was absolutely fascinating. Mind explaining how exactly I ended up being known as your secret boyfriend?" He said the last part with enough sarcasm that it was practically dripping from his tone.

Sakura spun around and glared at him. "I'll tell you whenever you want to tell me who exactly you were talking to before I found you. I haven't forgotten about that and I intend to find out the truth. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm done."

"You're done?" the Uchiha prompted, trailing after her, still wearing that same annoying smirk. He released the henge transformation and turned back into his older self with a puff of white smoke that quickly disappeared.

"Yep. I'm done. Done," Sakura declared and stalked into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She heard Madara's footsteps stop outside the entrance to her room and ignored him, flinging herself face down onto her bed. She seriously just wanted some alone time to unwind.

She fully expected him to taunt her or even force his way in, or worse yet, release the clone jutsu and rejoin her mind, but he didn't. She heard him sigh and mutter to himself, "Children..." After a few more seconds, he left and walked to her kitchen. Thank god for the small things, like Madara being considerate.

Sakura curled up into a ball and allowed herself a good, long overdue sulk. She tried, often failing, to not think about the encounter with Ino and the terrible embarrassment that followed. She especially tried to not remember how Madara felt pressed up against her side, because for some reason that bothered her even more than being humiliated, and she really did not want dwell on the reason why, because that would be admitting it, and fuck that. No.

She eventually lost track of time as she lied there on her bed. The delicious smells that slowly drifted in from the kitchen, accompanied by the occasional clang of kitchen utensils, did not cheer her up at all. Madara was an excellent cook, but even the thought of good food did nothing for her right now.

Worst day ever. Seriously.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Sakura has another dream. Madara digs for more information.


	19. Madara Uchiha, Detective Extraordinaire

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: AMidnightSilhouette, Of Healing Love, miemae04, Musical cake, Funnie, Ririn, la canelle, When God Abandoned The World, acetwolf94, 1ItachiUchihagurl, and The Imperfect Me. I'm really glad everyone really liked the last chapter! It was quite fun to write. This chapter probably won't be as exciting, but every week the story moves along a little more. AMidnightSilhouette, I will do a chapter on cooking sometime, when Madara and Sakura are on better terms.

Madara's assholeness will always be there to a degree (especially when dealing with other people), however he'll eventually tone it down with Sakura. Funnie, Madara was doing a henge over a henge, because he's Madara Uchiha and fuck the rules. I picture his younger self around 14. Sasuke will start coming up more often. Sakura's been preoccupied with the whole sharing a body with Madara thing and she's been trying to not think about Sasuke because it upsets her (Ino knows this), but when the Itachi vs Sasuke arc happens it'll be addressed. Ririn, the story will follow canon until the war arc, specifically until when Madara gets Edo Tensei'd (and by that I mean when he starts to be active via Edo Tensei, not the first time he's summoned for Kabuto to blackmail Obito). From there, it'll be vastly different.

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

* * *

**-Madara Uchiha, Detective Extraordinaire-**

Once again Sakura found herself dreaming about Madara's past. As usual, she was aware of what was happening and did not fight it, opting to go along for the ride and just watch everything from the young Uchiha's eyes. After a brief moment of tree hopping through the forest, she emerged from the branches to a familiar river bank.

Hashirama was already there, sitting by the water with his back turned towards her. She approached the other boy casually and called out, "Yo... long time no see... umm..."

Apparently Madara had forgotten the other kid's name. Fortunately, he picked up on the awkward prompt after a few seconds and replied, "It's Hashirama." Sakura mentally flinched. He sounded really down.

"Man, sulking before I even show up..." she teased, and then proceeded to try to get Hashirama to tell her why he was so depressed, but the boy deflected all her questions in that same tone of voice. He finally turned around and Sakura saw that he was crying, but Madara was too worked up and pissed off, already yelling, "Damn you! I'm trying to be considerate and understand here! So hurry up and spill your guts!"

"My little brother... was killed," Hashirama explained. The look in his eyes shook Sakura. As a shinobi, she was familiar with serious injuries and death, but no child should ever have that look in their eyes, like he's seen hell and lived to talk about it. The Senju's confession shut Madara up really fast, and she felt a surge of empathy and understanding from the Uchiha.

"I've always come here when I feel like this..." the other boy said, turning back to face the water, "All these emotions bottled up inside of me... I feel like the flow of the current can wash them all away..." After a pause, Hashirama looked over his shoulder at her. "Madara, right? It's the same for you, isn't it? Do you have any siblings?"

She walked forward and bent down to pick up a rock. "I have four brothers..." she replied, straightening up, a stone in her hand. She causally tossed it up and caught it. "Or rather, had four brothers..." Hashirama gave her a surprised look, but she ignored it and went on, "That's what it means to be a shinobi... death is always knocking on our door. From what I can tell, the only way we can avoid that is to be upfront and honest with the other side... Perhaps even, I don't know, form an alliance with them... but that's just wishful thinking... because we're all too proud to allow ourselves to be that vulnerable..." She pulled her arm back and prepared to skip the rock across the river.

Sakura was pretty impressed with Madara during his speech. She could feel that he meant every word of it and had spent a lot of time musing about the subject of changing the world. This must be how the seeds of Konoha got planted and how the village came to be. As she threw the stone, she continued, "I mean, who knows, maybe they don't hate you as much as you think..."

"Do you really think we'll never be able to be upfront and honest with the other side?" Hashirama asked, following the progress of the rock as it traveled over the water. She wondered if the Senju spent a lot of time thinking about the same issues Madara did.

"Beats me," she said, "but every time I come here, I hope that someone will find a way." The stone landed with a clack on the opposite side of the river. She smirked, proud of the accomplishment. "Looks like this time I got one over. Now you're not the only one who got to the other side." She saw Hashirama stand up out of the corner of her eye and turned to him. "I can read you like an open book."

The other boy looked taken aback for a moment, then blinked, "Wha?" Sakura waited with keen interest for the reply, eager to learn more about Madara's past. This dream was proving to be quite informative so far, seeing his early desire to influence and change the world he lived in, though she did want to know more about his brothers.

"You have no sense of style... look at your haircut and those clothes... don't get out much, do you?" she taunted with a shit-eating grin. Mentally, Sakura facepalmed hard. Even as a child, Madara was a huge dick. Not surprising, but still, way to disappoint. Man. Apparently Hashirama felt the same way, slumping over with the depressed air about him.

The scene blurred and she felt herself waking up. The next moment, Sakura groaned and sat up in her bed, quickly locking away the dream in Ino's seal.

'**Good, you're awake. Form a clone,**' Madara's voice echoed through her mind. Ugh, she just woke up and he's already snapping his fingers at her. Dick.

She kept quiet and did as he asked, though, happy to have him out of her head. With a brief strain and only a minor bit of pain, he was gone. Her clone transformed into the familiar figure of the Uchiha. "When you're done with all your morning rituals, I need to have a word with you," he said, looking down at her.

"Fine," Sakura grumbled and shooed him away. He left the room and she dragged herself out of bed a moment later. After showering, brushing her teeth, and getting dressed on auto-pilot, she exited her bedroom to find Madara waiting for her on the couch, his arms crossed and eyes closed, a contemplative look on his face. "What?" she asked, still a bit sleepy and now getting hungry too.

Black eyes opened to regard her with sharp interest. She stiffened, suddenly more alert and wary. "I've come across an... oddity," he began, "You see, I was curious to know why exactly your friend knew about me as your... secret boyfriend," he sneered at the end. " So I did some poking around in your head, and I kept finding blank spots. For example, there was a day where you went to visit her. I can see the memory of you entering her house and leaving it, but the events in between are gone." He leaned forward and rested his chin on one hand, "Tell me, Sakura, why are there so many holes in your memory?"

"Uh..." she stalled, her mind racing to come up with a believable lie, while at the same time trying to suppress quickly building panic. This was really bad... she never wanted him to find out about Ino's jutsu, but he was a keen man and of fucking course he'd notice bits of her memory were inaccessible to him. She felt kind of stupid for thinking that he wouldn't. Did he know about the jutsu already? She wasn't sure.

When the awkward silence had dragged on long enough for the Uchiha, he finally sighed in annoyance, straightened up, and said, "I scoured every inch of your mind while you were asleep and found nothing to indicate a reason why you'd be missing bits of memory. However... I did come up with a theory. Your friend's clan specializes in mental jutsu. The first instance of a hole occurring is when you went out to meet her." Madara paused for a moment, staring at her intensely. "She did something to your mind, didn't she?"

It took all of Sakura's willpower to not flinch and look away, as that would be an admission of guilt. Even so, she knew he had her and there was no denying it. He would be able to tell if she tried to lie. She wasn't sure if he'd be pissed off or not if she attempted to deceive him. Hesitantly, she confirmed his theory, "Yes."

She waited with tense breath for his reaction. The Uchiha's dark gaze was heavy and accusing and made her want to fidget. Would he retaliate for what she had done? The only positive in this situation was that he had not, and apparently could not, detect Ino's jutsu, so that meant he couldn't remove it. The moment seemed to drag on.

Finally, to her surprise and disbelief, Madara actually chuckled. At her confused look, he smirked and said, "Not bad, for a woman."

Very similar to how Hashirama reacted and must have felt earlier in her dream, Sakura blinked, "Wha...?"

"I don't really care if you want to hide some memories from me," he explained, "My other seal prevents you from revealing my existence... well, more accurately considering what already happened, details about me and my actual identity. The incident with your friend yesterday actually works out in my favor. I can move a little more freely in the village now." Sakura frowned at that. "That Yamanaka clan is quite impressive to create a jutsu that even I can't detect."

"You're not mad..?" Sakura asked, still in disbelief. Was he seriously not going to do anything to her? It was a relief, but not how she expected him to act. She thought she had been getting better at reading him and predicting his actions, but now he'd just proven otherwise.

Madara shot her an amused look, "No, so you can stop worrying. Like I said, if you want to keep your personal moments to yourself, that's fine." He paused for a few seconds. "I'd know if you tried to hide anything important from me, anyways."

With a glare, Sakura folded her arms across her chest and huffed, insulted. "Oh really? And how would you know when I can just hide the memory from you?"

The Uchiha stood up and strolled over to her. She stood her ground and frowned up at him. With a smirk, he pat her head and ruffled her hair, messing it up. Growling, Sakura batted his hand away. "Oi!" she protested when she saw he was leaving to the kitchen. "You didn't answer me!" She followed him, very irritated that he had messed up her hair.

"Mm?" Madara hummed absentmindedly as he took out a few pans and some eggs and other ingredients to cook breakfast with. As if the eggs were more interesting and needed more focus than talking to her! She still wanted a damn answer!

Now entirely frustrated at being fucked around with, Sakura complained, "Do you get a kick out of being a dick to me, or something?"

The Uchiha spared her a quick glance as he gathered more utensils, the corner of his mouth turned up, "Of course. I thought you would have realized that by now. Although... you are just a little girl..." he trailed off, becoming engrossed in the cooking. Riled up beyond reason with the insult to her gender, Sakura stomped her foot in anger, revving up to deliver a rant. Unfortunately for her, Madara took notice and intervened, pushing her out of the kitchen. "You'll get in the way. Out," he demanded. She struggled but within thirty seconds she was removed from the room.

This was just ridiculous... Sakura grit her teeth and hissed at him, much to his amusement. "You're a bastard," she said. For some reason she felt herself calming down. It was strange, and quite unlike her to let go of her anger so fast. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"One egg or two?" Madara asked, once again completely ignoring her. He was still holding a spatula and the hilarity of the sight was tickling her sense of humor.

Sakura had to bite back a laugh at how bizarre this conversation was getting. It was so typical, though... She realized that she only felt mildly annoyed, and the rest of her fury had vanished. With a roll of her eyes, she replied, "Two." Madara turned back to his cooking and Sakura wandered into her living room, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened.

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**Next Chapter:** Naruto comes for a visit. Sakura is very worried. Madara makes it worse.


	20. Interlude I : A World of Loss

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews: Of Healing Love, Gal Can't Help It, AMidnightSilhouette, Jiggy, acetwolf94, Bloodshot111, la canelle, 1ItachiUchihagurl, Musical cake, miemae04, The Imperfect Me, anon guest, and Amy. Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. It's always nice to see new reviewers too! Bloodshot111, sorry it seems like it's taking a long time. This isn't going to be a quick romance. I'm taking two characters who hate each other from the start and turning that into love, so it will be slow. I've spent the last couple chapters building up some moments between them. I intend to start the Sasuke/Itachi arc soon. I also keep trying to write earlier in the week, but usually I'm super tired after work, or sick, or get called into a WoW raid. Blargh.

Of Healing Love and The Imperfect Me brought up good points. Since this is written from Sakura's pov, you guys don't see what Madara has been doing (and yes there has been a lot I haven't told you), especially when Sakura doesn't know about it, or doesn't see hints of it. I intended to write solely from her perspective, but I think I'm going to have to do some Madara interlude chapters here and there to recap what he's been doing. So instead of the Naruto chapter this week, hope you all enjoy seeing what our favorite Uchiha has been up to so far.

Hopefully I've explained Madara's motivations thoroughly enough. If I missed anything or you have any questions, ask in a review and I'll answer next chapter. Also grammar errors, I might have missed some.

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**-Interlude I : A World of Loss-**

Madara Uchiha learned early on in life that this was a world of winners and losers, and unfortunately, he was one of the losers. Time after time, he had his hopes, dreams, and goals crushed. He failed to protect his brothers, failed to protect his clan, and had his dream of a peaceful village shattered with the bitter truth of reality. When he deciphered the Uchiha stone tablet and learned the history of shinobi, he had been overcome with hopelessness. Luckily, he also discovered the one way to end this hell of a reality and create a world of true peace and only winners. From then on, his life was devoted to the goal of casting Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon and saving the world from an endless cycle of hate.

While he had succeeded in gaining Hashirama's dna during their last battle, it took far too long for him to awaken the Rinnegan. By the time the Senju's power manifested in Madara, he was too old to complete the Eye of the Moon plan, especially with none of the tailed beasts in his possession. His many losses had made him crafty, though, and he set plans in motion to lead to his resurrection. While Obito had been a stroke of luck to find, he was wise enough to not fully trust the brat. His many decades spent alone in his cave led to new and useful jutsu being created. Namely, the one he used to bind his soul to this world until a suitable vessel stumbled upon his throne.

Madara never expected his backup plan to land him sealed inside a teenage girl. He also never expected said girl to successfully fight off his soul from completely taking over her body with some bizarre split personality. It left him in a bad position. The seal was designed to allow him to take over the host body and kill the original soul and mind. Ending up sharing a body was an unforeseen outcome with unknown implications, other than that her death would now also result in his death. It was an infuriating and bitter loss, but he shrugged off the defeat and looked to the future. It was far better than still being sealed inside his throne, and now he could find out what the hell Obito had been doing and play his own hand, if needed.

It took some time and was slow going, but digging through the girl's memories eventually yielded valuable information. Madara skimmed through the girl's entire life to get a basic understanding of what had happened while he'd been gone, focusing mostly on Konoha at first while she traveled back to the village. Her early memories were laughable. It disgusted Madara to know what kind of girl he was sealed inside. He'd never had a good opinion of women, being the weak creatures they were, and she was a prime example of that.

The girl he was stuck inside was beyond pathetic and he wasted no time informing her of this fact. She didn't take it very well. Her reaction to learning his identity was fairly amusing, but it did nothing to reign in her short temper. She also lacked respect and that irritated Madara. When she tried to reveal him to that weak mockery of a Hokage, he quickly put his foot down and set some ground rules, enforced with threats to her idiot friends and the village. On a whim, he made a deal with her about sharing her body and keeping his existence secret. He had no qualms about breaking his promises if it benefited him, however.

Even though Madara could just fight her for control, it would be an annoyance to have to constantly crush her will. He knew that she would fight him every step of the way. Konoha brats tended to be like that with their ridiculous "Will of Fire." It would be preferable if she was cooperative. Madara was willing to sacrifice a little bit of his pride for that. Besides, like he told her, he did not plan to be stuck in her weak body for longer than he had to be. She was in agreement with that and wanted him out just as much as he wanted to be free of her. His original plan was to only use a host body temporarily before returning to his own body via Nagato's Rinne Tensei. The seal was designed to allow that resurrection method.

Madara soon came to the realization that it benefited him to remain hidden inside the girl for now. It gave him access to the knowledge she held and he could use the opportunity to scope out the current situation with Obito's progress. Had his seal worked properly, he wouldn't have gained her memories. Later on in the days that followed, it was easy to connect the strings of the girl's knowledge and figure out what that Uchiha child had done so far. The Akatsuki reeked of the brat's influence and it was clear Obito was using them to collect the bijuu.

However, they were taking far, far too long and were all beyond incompetent. The Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki was walking proof of that. It was a perfect example of why Madara hated leaving tasks to other people unless it was absolutely necessary. At least he figured out why he had not been brought back to life by that brat Nagato yet. It was good that he had enacted the backup plan, even if it had not worked as he fully intended. It at least gave him a method to work towards correcting Obito's mistakes.

After finding out that the Eye of the Moon plan was nowhere near completion, Madara was understandably annoyed and frustrated. He was a patient man though, and had plenty of experience with his plans going awry. He decided to take advantage of being sealed inside the girl, despite the handicaps of no Sharingan, no access to his own chakra, and the disgust of having a female body. He could set things in motion to deliver the Kyuubi to Obito and use Zetsu as a proxy. He was unsure if he wanted to reveal himself to that failure of a brat yet.

The inspiration he got from seeing the Jinchuuriki for the clone loophole was a stroke of genius. He didn't care if it hurt the girl, being able to act without her there was a critical victory. It was a minor annoyance that it took weeks for her to grow strong enough to allow them to be separated for an acceptable amount of time. He amused himself with reading and tormenting her. It was very easy to get her riled up. While he had been genuinely irritated with her when he was first sealed in her body, it eventually became entertainment to push her buttons and set her off. His record was twelve seconds.

Madara still laughed to himself about her oh so noble decision to become his jailer, despite her previous desire to remove him as soon as possible. When the timing was right, he would leave her body, whether she wanted him to or not. But for now, he had work to do in Konoha. She seemed to think it was her duty to keep an eye on him. He knew she was leaving clones to guard the exits to her apartment when she left for her job in the hospital. It was simple to sneak by them and traverse the village in his younger form. Henge was such a useful jutsu.

At the first opportunity, Madara left the village while the brat was at work. He intended to contact Zetsu and establish a line of communication. While it was simple to avoid the guards and get outside the walls, he had barely gone a hundred yards away when his body collapsed, a sharp pain straining his chest. It grew worse every step he took away from the village and he was forced to turn back, much to his displeasure. Madara quickly deduced that it was the seal causing the pain and that there was a limit to the distance he could be from the girl. It was a frustrating drawback to the clone trick.

Unable to leave the village, Madara spent time instead learning the Anbu patrol routes, scouting for holes in the village's defense, and watching the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. It turns out the fox brat was possibly even more pathetic than the girl. Both were also incredibly naive. It was mind boggling the level of faith they had in the village. He was aware the girl had little knowledge of the history of corruption in Konoha. Discovering the truth about the Uchiha massacre, and he knew there was more to it than what she had told him, had become a side project to eventually work on. He had, quite generously in his opinion, given her the correct version of the village's history, but she had been very disrespectful.

Madara had also attempted to explain a little bit of his goal of creating a better world full of peace and winners to her. He refused to indulge her too much though, as he was still somewhat annoyed with the level of her naivety. She eventually dropped the topic, but he knew she had not forgotten it. She had picked up hints of Obito's existence too. Not that it would do her any good. She seemed to alternate between trying to get along with him, much to his amusement, and blowing up in a rage. Teenage girls were strange creatures.

He really did not understand why she got so upset when she found out he had seen her naked. He had lived a long time and didn't concern himself with that sort of thing anymore. He never had been too interested in it, really. She made such a fuss about it that he ended up having to threaten her. The girl could be such an annoying little brat. She even had the gall to demand an apology from him. Of course he refused on principle and taunted her about it.

She surprised him that day, though, when she declared that she'd never give up no matter how many times he humiliated her and outsmarted her. Madara could tell from the look in her eyes that she meant it. He knew from her past, having dug through all her memories by that point, that she wasn't just spouting bullshit words. She had backed up her statement even before sharing her body with him. He grudgingly admitted that he could sympathize with her... just a bit. He was in the same boat with the Eye of the Moon plan. He would never give up on that.

That was the day she got promoted from the "worthless, weak woman" category to "not bad." He deemed her good enough to actually use her name. She was still weak, but she did have some guts, especially when she stood up to him. Sakura seemed to understand the small positive shift in his opinion of her, but was smart enough to not talk about it. It worked out in his favor. She became a bit more tolerable to be around, but also more confident in her actions. Not a bad thing, since that ended up with him getting his hair brushed. He secretly enjoyed that experience, though he'd die before admitting it to anyone.

One thing he did have to admit is that he was surprised and shocked when he found out that her blonde friend knew of him, even if it was a lie. Secret boyfriend indeed. Disgusting. Madara had finally managed to contact Zetsu after sensing him outside the village. They met in the empty Uchiha compound and discussed the current status of the Eye of the Moon plan. Nagato being crippled was unexpected, but it didn't matter. He had gained enough control over the Rinnegan to cast Rinne Tensei whenever needed. Obito was posing as a member of the Akatsuki and manipulating matters behind the scenes. Zetsu assured him that the collection of the bijuu was actually progressing well. It turns out that they had only recently started sealing the beasts, and that it had taken some years for Obito to gather enough shinobi make any headway on their plan.

Madara, of course, was exasperated once again with how incompetent the brat was. After briefly talking it over, he decided to keep his existence from Obito for now and use Zetsu to keep tabs on the situation. They would coordinate the best time and method to capture and extract the Kyuubi. Madara's resurrection would have to wait until later, since using Rinne Tensei in his current state would likely kill Nagato, and the redheaded brat was still useful. While not ideal, Madara was satisfied that at least he now had some control over the plan again. He was confident that it would happen faster and with less setbacks than if he had just let Obito handle it.

He had barely finished talking to Zetsu when Sakura stormed in on him. The following encounter with her blonde friend was bizarre, to say the least. But also incredibly amusing. Madara took full advantage of the moment, despite his initial revulsion, to torment the girl. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The most interesting thing to come from that afternoon was the revelation that Sakura had been keeping secrets from him. It was quite impressive, if Madara was honest with himself. He had not detected the mental jutsu at all. It did not bother him if she wanted to keep some moments from him. The seal he had placed on her tongue guaranteed she wouldn't be talking about him, and if she did try to hide something important from him, he would find out. He could read her body language like an open book.

Even if, by some odd fluke, she did manage to deceive him about something critical, it wouldn't matter in the end. All that mattered was the completion of the Eye of the Moon plan. And that, Madara would make happen. No matter the cost.


	21. Deja Vu

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews: Anon guest, Amy, Of Healing Love, AMidnightSilhouette, Valedicktorian, The Imperfect Me, Musical cake, and MadaMada. Anon guest, everyone is a brat to Madara, lol. He's old. But yeah, I try to vary words if I can. Sometimes there's no getting around it though. Glad everyone enjoyed seeing Madara's perspective. Valedicktorian, I'm pushing them as fast as I think I can. They're sort of getting along now, even if there's still some bad feelings lingering. I've thrown a couple bones with the hair brushing, naked incident, and Madara tormenting her in front of Ino. I also need to deal with Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, which will be starting next chapter (Sasuke/Itachi arc).

I've dropped a couple hints in previous author notes about the war arc and EotM plan but I really don't want to spoil what I have planned. I will say that once Madara gets Edo Tensei'd things are going to be totally different than how it happened in the manga. I will be kicking the plot into gear here now. I feel like I've devoted enough chapters to build the foundations of their relationship, and the rest can be developed during canon events. Oh yeah, and I'll be taking minor liberties with canon details as needed until the war arc (nothing big, just things like which character approaches another for whatever reason, alterations to lines, how a fight involving Sakura proceeds, and whatnot).

_Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind._

**Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.**

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**-Deja Vu-**

It was nearing noon and Sakura was only just eating breakfast. She had briefly woken up in the early morning and obliged Madara's request to split into a clone, then fallen asleep again afterwards. It was nice to have a day off sometimes. Her thoughts drifted from her recent, and still very weird in her opinion, interactions with Madara to the dream she had last night. She had seen the conversation the young Uchiha had with Hashirama about creating a village.

She had also learned that Madara had lost all but one of his brothers, leaving him with an intense desire to protect the remaining one. That had been a huge factor in his dream to create a place where he could watch over his sibling. Hashirama was probably in the same boat. She felt bad for them both. It must be terrible to lose a brother or sister. Hopefully she'd have another dream soon that would yield more information about Madara's brother. She had a feeling it was really important.

Sakura mindlessly pushed her half-eaten scrambled eggs around her plate. She couldn't figure out exactly where she stood with Madara right now. While she was still mad about him seeing her naked and not exactly happy about all the teasing and torment he put her through, it lacked the maliciousness that was there in the beginning and it had taken on a feeling of normality, though he was still a bastard for doing it. They definitely weren't friends and she was still committed to protecting her friends and Konoha from him, and did not trust him. She was always aware of the threat he posed. Yet...

"Don't play with your food," Madara snapped, and whacked her over the head with a rolled up newspaper.

Sakura snarled and jabbed her fork at him, "Don't hit me! I'll finish it when I damn well want to." She took another bite of food while glaring daggers at him.

"Make sure you do. Think of all the starving children in the world. You're the type to care about that, am I correct?" Madara smirked at her as he walked back into the kitchen.

"If your ego was food it'd be big enough to feed every hungry person in the world three times a day for ten years," Sakura yelled after him. There was no reply but the sound of amused laughter. She grumbled to herself and shoveled the rest of the eggs down before bringing her plate to the kitchen. Madara had moved to the living room and was sitting in his usual place on the couch, reading today's news.

She was debating about going to harass him about the many unanswered questions he still owed her explanations for, when the doorbell rang. Sakura answered it to find Naruto standing before her.

"Hi Sakura!" He greeted her with a smile, "Can I come in? We haven't seen each other lately so I want to catch up before we have to go."

She blinked, "Uh, go where? And we can just talk out here. No need to come in." She wanted to keep him away from Madara. Far, far away from Madara.

Naruto pouted, "Aw, you're so mean! How come you don't want to invite me in? I smell food. Have you been cooking? I'm kind of hungry so..."

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. The food's already gone. Now, what do you mean about going somewhere? We can chat on the way," Sakura said, feeling a little bit guilty. It was true that they hadn't hung out much recently, and he was a good friend.

"She doesn't want you to come in because she's trying to hide her secret boyfriend," the voice of Madara's younger form called from the other room. Sakura's eyes widened in horror and she stuttered incomprehensibly. That bastard! She absolutely did not want a repeat performance of what happened with Ino. No fucking thank you.

Naruto looked incredibly surprised for a moment, and then much to Sakura's dread, a sly foxy grin spread across his face. "Ohhh, now I get it. I guess you're over Sasuke then? I know he's our friend but he was still a jerk to you."

"No no no, there's nothing to get, Naruto!" she panicked, in full damage control mode. The mention of Sasuke's name twisted her heart a bit. She still had feelings for him, even though she tried to not think about it. Naruto wasn't the type to tip-toe around more sensitive topics.

Footsteps strolled up from behind her and Madara appeared off to her side. Naruto blinked when he caught sight of the Uchiha. "He's uh... kind of young, Sakura." She facepalmed and sighed, frustrated that once again Madara was being a dick and making everything worse. Was it really that hard to just stay quiet and out of the way? Really?!

"I know, Naruto. It's fine. Let's just go," she made to push Naruto backwards so that she could shut the door.

"Hang on!" her friend protested, resisting the manhandling, "How come you've never told me about him? It's not nice to keep stuff like this from your friends, ya know? What's your name?" he directed the last part to Madara.

"Tajima," the Uchiha in disguise replied. He looked like he was greatly enjoying Sakura's obvious unhappiness with the situation. She glared at him over her shoulder, not that it actually did anything but make him smirk even more. She did not like the way he kept eyeing Naruto either.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Has Sakura told you about me? How come she's kept your relationship a secret?" he dodged another attempt of pushing him out the door.

"Yes of course, she's told me all about you," Madara said as he leaned casually against the wall, "As for your other question, I'm sure you know how overprotective she is."

Naruto laughed and nodded, "I sure do! Hey, Sakura, have you guys kissed yet?"

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieked, and thumped him on his head. She'd had enough, damn it! Going through this bullshit with Ino once was enough for her.

Madara chuckled as Naruto whined and rubbed his head, "Interesting... that girl, the Yamanaka, asked the exact same question."

"Ehh?! Sakura, you told Ino but not me?" her blonde friend looked upset at the revelation. This did nothing to help her frustration.

"I didn't have much of a choice," she grumbled, barely keeping herself from lashing out, "And that's besides the point. Let's just go, Naruto." She grabbed him arm and towed him back out the door.

"Hang on, you didn't answer me!" he protested, struggling against her, "Have you guys kissed? Sakura! Stop! Come on, tell me! I want to know!"

"Why does everyone care so much about that?!" she shrieked, finally losing any sort of control on her temper. She was just about ready to beat them both into the ground.

"All the time," Madara said in response to Naruto. He had a shit-eating grin on his face now. She knew from how he initially reacted to finding out about his secret boyfriend status that the idea of that sort of thing disgusted him, and it was revolting to her too. Just picturing it made her want to vomit... only, that wasn't what she was feeling. She frowned as a strange sensation settled in her chest. Kissing Madara... his dark eyes... brush of hair on her face... what would...

No.

Stop.

Enough.

As her face flushed, Sakura snarled and slammed the door, barely missing hitting the Uchiha, who stepped back out of the way just in time. "It's not very nice to treat your boyfriend like that, Sakura," Naruto told her.

"Shut. Up. Let's go," she growled, still blushing from her stupid imagination. Stupid, stupid imagination. It took her a few minutes of dragging Naruto through the streets before she calmed down enough to take notice of his protests. Slowing her pace, she turned to him and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Tsunade-bachaan wants to see us both," he said, eyeing her warily. Naruto had experienced her temper enough times before to know not to push it about what had happened back at her apartment.

"Okay," Sakura said, "Hokage's office, then." With that, she and Naruto continued to head towards their destination. A moment later, Madara's presence appeared in her mind. He had released the clone.

'_You're really immature for an old man,_' she told him. '_Seriously, you act like you're five._'

Madara snorted, '**And you're far too uptight for someone so young. Learn to loosen up.**'

"Uh, you okay, Sakura?" Naruto's voice interrupted her and she realized that her teeth were bared in a silent snarl.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, schooling her expression back to normal, though she was unable to fight back an annoyed twitch of her eye as she felt a wave of amusement from the Uchiha.

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**Next Chapter:** Sakura and Naruto get some critical news and a mission from Tsunade. Madara is intrigued.


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